A new study by Stanford and MIT has revealed that the use of generative AI tools in the workplace can increase worker productivity by 14 per cent.
The study is the first major real-world application of AI in the workplace and measured the productivity of over 5,000 customer support agents in a Fortune 500 enterprise software firm over the course of a year.
Tech support agents who used AI tools that created conversational scripts saw their productivity improve by 14 per cent on average, while “novice and low-skilled workers” were able to complete their work 35 per cent faster. In some cases, the use of AI trumped real-life work experience, with customer service agents who used AI support performing as well as or better than agents with over six months of experience.
The study also revealed that the use of AI tools improved customer satisfaction, reduced requests for managerial intervention, and improved employee retention. However, the benefits of AI may not be evenly distributed, according to Erik Brynjolfsson, the director of the Digital Economy Lab at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI and co-author of the report.
MIT PhD candidate and co-author of the paper, Lindsey Raymond, notes that AI support can be especially helpful to entry-level or early-career workers, who can learn from the technology’s recommendations to improve their skills. Experienced or highly skilled workers may see minimal impact from the use of AI tools, but they can still benefit from training the AI by providing examples of best practices.
The sources for this piece include an article in CNBC.