Many office workers are spending a sizable chunk of their week supervising artificial intelligence rather than reaping efficiency gains, according to a new report from Glean’s Work AI Institute and academic partners. Surveying 6,000 white-collar employees in the U.S., U.K., and Australia, researchers found staff devote an average of 6.4 hours a week “botsitting”—supplying context, checking outputs, and fixing errors. While 87% use AI at work and 75% feel more productive, only 13% say their organizations perform significantly better, underscoring a widening productivity paradox. The report warns that heavy botsitters are 73% more likely to be job hunting, as morale erodes when extra oversight isn’t recognized or rewarded. Authors argue that leading firms close the gap by investing in context access, training, standards for quality, and clearer rules on what tasks should—and should not—be handed to models, rather than deploying more AI indiscriminately.
Related articles:
— Work Trend Index 2024: AI at Work Is Here—Now Comes the Hard Part
— Experimental Evidence on the Productivity Effects of Generative Artificial Intelligence
— Building the AI-Powered Organization





























