Even though over half of U.S. employees are currently using generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools in their work, about three-quarters of American companies lack a clear and established AI policy, according to a recent survey.

A September 13 report from The Conference Board, a non-profit think tank, found that 56% of American workers are using generative AI on the job.

Thirty-one percent use the technology on a regular basis. Nine percent said they use it every day, 17% weekly, and 5% monthly. A quarter of responders said they occasionally use AI.

Still, 44% of those surveyed said that have never used generative AI for work purposes.

Uses of AI technology vary. Roughly seven in ten workers (68%) said they use it to draft written content, while six in ten use it to brainstorm ideas. Half of the responders said AI helps them conduct background research.

Many respondents think highly of artificial intelligence, with 45% of interviewees claiming the work generated by AI is equal to that of an experienced employee, and another 10% saying it is equal to that of an expert worker.

More importantly, almost two-thirds of those surveyed (63%) said that generative AI tools have helped them improve their productivity. Over half of those interviewed (56%) said AI led to an increase in productivity while another 7% said it significantly increased their productivity.

"Generative AI is already delivering a work product that meets or exceeds the quality of employees with years of experience — at least on specific tasks," said Diana Scott, leader of The Conference Board Human Capital Center. "At the same time, few people we surveyed foresee AI technology as a threat to replace their jobs entirely. Rather, they appear to be embracing AI as a solution for repetitive or tedious parts of their work, freeing up bandwidth for more productive and valuable uses of their time."

Unfortunately, only 26% of respondents said that their organization actually has established policies related to generative AI. Another 23% of those surveyed said that their company is developing a policy for this technology, and 34% said their organization has no AI policies in place.

Within organizations that lack a clear AI policy, 40% of employees claim their managers are fully aware they are using this type of technology in their work. Amongst businesses that are currently developing AI policies, 53% of workers said their managers are fully aware of the use of AI in their operations.

Information for the survey from The Conference Board, which is made up of 1,000 companies in 60 different countries, was collected from interviews of 1,100 U.S. employees between July 26, 2023, and August 13, 2023.