Why Office Workers Are Turning to AI Over Colleagues in 2025

Here’s a summary of key findings from the Newser article “Survey: Some Use AI to Avoid Their Colleagues,” which explains why office workers are increasingly turning to AI rather than colleagues for assistance, based on Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index Report:
Survey Background:

• Based on a survey of 31,000 workers across 31 countries.

Why workers use AI instead of colleagues:

• 42%: Value AI’s 24/7 availability.
• 30%: Cite speed and quality of AI’s answers.
• 28%: Appreciate AI’s unlimited ideas on demand.
• 17%: Prefer AI since it doesn’t pass judgment.
• 16%: Like that AI doesn’t get frustrated or impatient.
• 15%: Find AI requires less handholding than humans.
• 8%: Use AI to avoid having to share credit with a colleague.
• A “small percentage” admitted to using AI chiefly to cut down on interpersonal interaction.

How employees use AI at work:

• 52%: See AI as a command-based tool (“direct, simple commands to get the job done”).
• 46%: Use it as a thought partner (for brainstorming, sparking creativity, challenging ideas).
• 2%: Weren’t sure how they use AI.

Takeaway:
While some turn to AI to sidestep uncomfortable human interactions, most cite convenience, speed, and quality as primary reasons. There’s also a notable split between seeing AI as a “tool” versus a “partner” at work.
Source:
You can read the original article here: Newser: Survey Reveals Why We Turn to AI Instead of a Co-Worker

---

Source: Newser Survey: Some Use AI to Avoid Their Colleagues