Millennials Lead the Way in Embracing AI at Work

Millennials are the most likely to feel positive about using AI at work compared to other generations, according to recent research.

More than half of Millennials reported that artificial intelligence improved their decision-making (55%), reduced stress (53%), and enhanced creativity (53%), according to a study from Udacity, an e-learning platform based in Mountain View, Calif.

However, fewer workers on either side of Millennials—those in Generation Z and Generation X—reported similar attitudes toward AI usage at work: Only 21% of Gen Zers and 19% of Gen Xers said AI improved their decision-making. In addition, more than half (54%) of Millennials said AI had the potential to increase revenue or income, while only 24% of Gen Zers and 16% of Gen Xers agreed.

“I’m not surprised to see the Millennials favoring AI,” said Cam Marston, speaker, author, and president of Generational Insights in Mobile, Ala. “New tech has always been the darling of the youth. They’ve used it to distinguish themselves from their elders in the workplace.”

Bruce Tulgan is founder and CEO of RainmakerThinking, a management training and consulting firm in Wallingford, Conn., that focuses on workplace generational issues. He said the study reflects that Millennials have much more experience engaging with AI, learning from it, and learning how to integrate it into their tasks, responsibilities, and projects.

“Perhaps Gen Xers have avoided it, and perhaps Gen Zers take it completely for granted,” Tulgan said.

The study also found that other than writing assistants such as ChatGPT—a favorite of all generations in the study—Millennials prefer AI image-generation tools, while Gen Z and Gen X employees more often turn to translation tools.

Marston explained that as a member of Generation X, he’s dabbled with AI “as a super-Google.” But it hasn’t really changed how he does his work yet. “That may be reflective of my abilities and my thinking, ‘Let’s see if this really is all they say it is,’ ” he noted. “Maybe my Gen X colleagues are thinking the same.” 

A separate survey by LinkedIn found that midcareer employees are more likely to be focused on upskilling in response to advances in AI. Midcareer Millennials are leading the charge to gain AI skills to further their careers: 54% of respondents in that generation agreed, followed by 53% of Gen X workers. In contrast, 45% of Baby Boomers and 39% of Gen Z workers agreed.

“Boomers are exiting the workforce, and Gen Zers don’t see it as upskilling,” Tulgan said. “Gen Z likely sees it as just keeping up with the latest technology.”

Marston said the oldest Gen Xers are trying to remain viable in the workplace and are upskilling so they can get to retirement in about 10 years. He noted, “Additionally, they may feel threatened by the younger generations and are trying to keep pace with them.”