Artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming part of the regular workweek — and for some employees, it may already be freeing up hours of working time.
A State of AI 2026 survey from Canadian business law firm Prelia found that 30% of respondents estimate AI saves an average of four or more hours per week for each employee who uses it.
Overall, 68% estimate savings of at least one hour weekly.
Those numbers raise a talent-management question that may become increasingly important as workplace AI matures: what should employers do with the time the technology gives back?
“If AI is saving an employee four or more hours a week, that is a meaningful opportunity for the business,” said Michael Ginevsky, a Prelia partner from Calgary who helped lead the research. “For a growing company, it could mean taking on more work without immediately needing to hire, or getting to projects that have been sitting on the back burner.”
But Ginevsky said employers should be careful about simply turning every efficiency gain into additional work.
“Employees should be consulted about how that extra capacity is used,” he said. “If every improvement simply results in a heavier workload, people may become less willing to share what they have figured out.”
Employers should also consider whether AI-created capacity can be used for skills development, higher-value responsibilities, or a more manageable workload, he added.
“This is a generational opportunity to build more productive businesses and improve people’s working lives.”
Managing an AI-Enabled Workforce
Prelia surveyed 121 organizations, including startups, growth companies, and mid-market businesses. Among organizations that began using or evaluating AI within the past year, 73% reported increased individual productivity, and 70% reported faster drafting or turnaround.
Yet employee training remains a work in progress.
Only 14% of respondents identified employee AI training among the governance measures currently in place, while 29% selected training as one of their top priorities for managing AI over the coming year.
AI is also beginning to reach traditional people-management functions, creating another challenge for employers.
Among the relatively small group of respondents whose organizations use AI for HR or people-related purposes, only 35% reported human review before decisions are made, while 40% were unsure what controls were in place.
Ginevsky said employers need to understand what AI systems are actually assessing when they are used to screen candidates.
“A tool might claim to assess a candidate’s adaptability, but if it is wrongly assuming older applicants are less adaptable and screening them out on that basis, that can create a discrimination problem,” he said. “Using AI does not remove an employer’s responsibility to comply with applicable laws.”
Prelia lawyer Thomas Heine said human oversight needs to be meaningful when AI influences employment decisions.
“Someone should be looking at the underlying information and deciding whether the recommendation makes sense,” Heine said. “That person also needs the authority to change the outcome.”
The survey was voluntary and distributed through Prelia’s client and professional network, meaning the findings represent participating organizations rather than Canadian employers generally.
Even with those qualifications, the findings point toward the next stage of workplace AI adoption.
For employers, the challenge may increasingly be less about whether people are using AI and more about how jobs, expectations, and employment decisions change when they do.
