A new survey by Deloitte and Ipsos, covering 25,000 employees in the UK, highlights that workers are spending nearly £1 billion ($1.4 billion) annually of their own money on generative AI tools. Approximately 17% of the surveyed workforce personally funds subscriptions for services like ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot to assist with professional tasks.
The data indicates that 66% of respondents have experimented with AI tools, while 24% utilize them on a daily basis. Users report an average time saving of 70 minutes per week on routine activities such as drafting emails, summarizing documents, and searching for information.
The study identifies a significant shadow AI trend, with 31% of employees using these tools without their employer's knowledge. This practice creates potential risks for data governance and compliance, as organizations remain unaware of the specific software being used to handle internal data.
For AI providers, the findings suggest a substantial untapped enterprise market in the UK. Given the current level of individual spending, the potential demand for corporate licenses and compliant enterprise-grade AI solutions is expected to be significantly higher than the current personal expenditure figures.
