AI's impact on the mental health of the industry - Part 2
The Adoption Paradox: The tool everyone’s using, but few are fully comfortable with.
80% have found AI useful, yet concern about adoption sits at 6.7 out of 10. The adoption paradox is real.
“I’m still pretty uncomfortable with how much I use it”
Female, 35-44, Caucasian
KEY DATA
• 58% have experimented and found AI generally useful; only 16% found it unhelpful.
• 23% have integrated AI as a core part of their day-to-day workflow.
• 39% use AI every day; 45% occasionally (few times a week/month); 12% experimentally; 3% not at all.
• 35–44 year olds are the heaviest daily users, not younger creatives. Only 17% of 18–24 year olds use AI daily vs ~49% of 35–54 year olds.
• 95% have tried generative text tools (ChatGPT, Claude); 61% AI-assisted editing (Photoshop, Figma); 58% text-to-image (Midjourney, etc.).
• AI tools used almost 50% more in design studios than creative agencies.
• However, creative agencies have a larger proportion of people with AI as a core workflow tool.
• Average concern about AI adoption: 6.7 out of 10.
When it comes to usage, let’s face it, most of us have tried AI. From the survey, we can see that at least 58% have experimented with various tools and found AI generally useful, whereas only 16% have given it a go and said it was “unhelpful”. It’s likely why we’re even having this discussion about AI adoption in the first place, because AI can be of benefit to us. But it is likely that many of us don’t know how to move beyond this initial experimentation. And there are plenty of reasons for why not: a lack of know-how, valid environmental concerns, or simply having a level of anxiety about what this might mean for us as an industry. That said, 23% reported they are taking it in their stride and learning how to master AI, integrating it as part of their ‘day-to-day workflow’.
Here’s a surprising trend for you. In contrast to the assumption that younger creatives might be the most eager adopters of AI tools, the survey results showed 35-44 year olds were most likely to be integrating it firmly into their workflows. Younger people, on the other hand, are more likely to use it sparingly or not at all. In terms of overall usage regardless of what tools you’re using, we can see reports that 39% are using AI every day, 45% are occasional users (a few times a week or month), 12% still see it as something to experiment with now and again, and only 3% haven’t used it at all. But for younger people, this skews more heavily towards occasional use or experimentation.
Perhaps this adoption rate comes down to the tools we’re using? We measured the types of AI tools in play, and almost 95% had tried generative text tools (like ChatGPT or Claude), followed by 61% using AI-assisted editing tools (like Photoshop or Figma), and 58% using text-to-image tools (e.g. Midjourney, Nano Banana). Interestingly, AI tools of all types were used almost 50% more in design studios than in creative agencies.
In other areas, though, creative agencies are nudging ahead in terms of adoption. A larger proportion of those who said AI was a core part of their workflow worked in creative agencies, rather than design studios or specialist agencies. Take from that what you will. Perhaps the desire (or, the commercial demand) to optimise has been greater?
It’s worth noting, and this might be reflected in the lower adoption among younger creatives, that concern over AI adoption isn't insignificant. On average, people rated concern about adoption at 6.7 out of 10, with plenty of concerns that Andy will dive into shortly. So while on average, we’re willing to give AI a go (and even find it quite helpful!) you’re arguably more likely to see your older colleagues using it more and more. And perhaps overall as an industry, we really are not entirely comfortable with it just yet.
Almost half of us say curiosity drives adoption, but beneath that, the pressure from managers, clients and peers is harder to escape than the data alone suggests.
“It feels like I have to do my job worse in order to show that I’m ‘bought in’ to ‘the future.’”
25-34, Non-Binary, United States
KEY DATA
• 49% cite personal curiosity as the primary driver of AI adoption.
• Only 12% name manager demands as an external factor — but when asked directly about pressure, the split is roughly 50/50.
• “Pressure of my own expectations to perform or be creative” rated 7.55/10.
• “Uncertainty regarding the future of my role” rated 6.62/10.
• “Pressure to stay up to speed on trends and technology, like AI” rated 6.51/10.
• “My work being devalued” was the most concerning at 9.1/10.
While there are many valid concerns about the adoption of AI, how much do we really feel like we have a choice about whether we use it? This felt like an important question for us and we were curious about how much, if any, pressure is getting applied across the industry in regards to adoption by employees.
When we asked about significant external factors influencing your adoption of AI, we were surprised to learn just under half (49%) put it down to personal curiosity (a rather nice reminder of what makes our industry so great, we’re keen experimenters!) However, when it came to Manager Demands as an external factor, that came in markedly lower at just 12%. However, when specifically asked whether there’d been pressure to use AI by clients, managers or collaborators, we see a rough split between Yes or No.
What people told us
“(I felt) pressured to embrace it, and if I didn’t I was made to seem ‘behind the times’. I had a co-worker tell me that AI being a core part of my job was ‘inevitable’. Imagine being told your work is soon to be redundant by your own co-worker.”
“Timelines have become ridiculously compressed. We expect outputs turned around nearly overnight. Any resistance is met with “can’t AI just do it?”.”
“Every level of management above me asks regularly if I am using AI, how I'm using it, and how I can use it more. They've spent money on fairly crappy AI tools and we spend more time talking about using AI than we have saved actually using it. I work in-house at a large organisation and it's definitely about proving to the Exec level that the organisation is modern and moving with the times. It's not about work or even outcomes, just performative box-ticking.”
“Death by 1000 cuts to accept AI into the work flow in order to keep the peace”
“My boss will always ask me to use Gemini or ChatGPT to solve quick problems. I once wrote a paragraph and asked for a review from them. They then proceeded to ask if I had put it into AI to shorten it first (which I had not done). This felt like words from AI were prioritised over human skill.”
“Have definitely felt a sense of being behind / stubborn / less clever for not leaning wholeheartedly into AI tools. My concerns around developing my own skills (I'm relatively new to the industry) before deferring to AI have often been dismissed by those with more experience in the industry.”
“I do wish AI didn't exist, but am willing to use it to stay in the game.”
“It's more the pressure I put on myself to use AI in a considered manner, but also efficiently”
There’s a lot to unpack in these insights, and perhaps some of these will resonate beyond the creative industries. They might be versions of stories everyone is experiencing in some form or another across workplaces. We do know though, that this pressure is perhaps uniquely felt by internal and external factors in the creative industries. When we look at how we consider stress, “the pressure of my own expectations to perform or be creative” (7.55 out of 10) is a key internal stressor. Combined with "Uncertainty regarding the future of my role" (6.62) and "Pressure to stay up to speed on trends and technology, like AI" (6.51), we can perhaps see a hint of an industry internalising anxiety about its own relevance. Concerns about using AI at work, “My work being devalued” was the most concerned at 9.1 out of 10. Some insights on this:
Perhaps these insights into how our industry is thinking and feeling about internal and external factors of AI adoption reveal a more complex and nuanced sentiment, where it isn't a false dichotomy of to-use or not-to-use. There’s more going on under the surface.
Written by Kate Shelton and Andy Wright.
Missed Part 1? You can find it here.
