New report claims AI is helping create jobs in UK businesses, as workers can’t get enough of it Craig Hale | usagoldmines.com

• Four in five say AI has or will create jobs in the next two years
• Two in five are still worried about AI replacing them
• Managers are more likely to use AI agents

A new HP survey of nearly 20,000 desk-based workers globally has revealed that nearly half (46%) of Brits believe AI has positively affected their lives, with one in two (52%) using employer-provided AI tools daily or weekly – up from 38% last year.

But rather than replacing workers, three in five UK business leaders say AI adoption has actually created new roles – or even entire teams – within their organizations.

Additionally, an extra one in five (19%) expects AI to create new roles over the next one to two years, totally countering previous narratives that AI would wipe out human workers.

HP data shows that AI could actually be creating jobs

On the flip side, just 10% say AI is primarily replacing or reducing roles – and this isn’t just a trend that’s native to the UK. It aligns broadly with the global average, with 59% of business leaders and 62% of IT decision-makers (ITDMs) reporting job creation.

Agentic AI use is also on the up, with 45% of UK desk-based workers now opting to use increasingly automated systems that would previously have been seen as a threat to their livelihood. However, HP’s data does align with other recent research to reveal an organizational disparity – agent usage falls when a worker becomes less senior. Just 38% of knowledge workers use agents, compared with 56% of business leaders and 71% of ITDMs.

“For businesses, the priority now is to help people seize those opportunities by investing in the skills, tools and development they need to adapt and grow,” HP UK&I MD Ruth Patterson explained, noting the ongoing shift in job roles.

“Work is changing rapidly, but this year’s findings show that people are adapting with it.”

Still, despite the largely positive findings, 38% of UK knowledge workers still worry that AI could replace their roles, with a near-identical number (37%) also worried that they could be replaced by somebody who knows more about AI.