More than one in five Canadians use generative AI tools in the workplace, with 90% saying it’s improved the quality of their work, the latest KPMG survey says.

According to the professional service network’s latest Generative AI Adoption survey of 4,515 Canadians conducted in October and November, not only are more people using the tool, but users are doing so more frequently than just six months ago.

“The incredible speed of adoption after just one year of being introduced to the general public shows how generative AI has not only revolutionized the way people work, but it’s supercharged the speed of technology innovation as well, with breakthroughs happening at a much faster rate,” says Seamus Blackmore, a partner at KPMG in Canada.

The data reveals that 61% of generative AI users now use the technology for work multiple times per week, up from 52% in May. Research is the primary work task these tools are used for, with ideation the second most common task (see below).

As Blackmore notes, many generative AI systems have already evolved from large-language models to multi-modal systems, meaning they create content from photos or voice commands rather than just text prompts.

KPMG data reveals that 76% of users rely on publicly available generative AI tools to assist with work tasks, while 24% use private generative AI tools built exclusively by their employers. The data also notes that adoption of AI generative tools in the workplace is growing at an annualized rate of 32%, suggesting that half of all Canadian workers could be using it within three years.

Other survey highlights include 77% of respondents reporting that their employers know they use generative AI, which is up from 64%, and that 55% report they always check the accuracy of information produced by generative AI, up from 49%. As well, more Generative AI users (58% versus 55% in May) says that it’s a time-saving device, helping them save between one to five hours of work per week.

“Since generative AI was introduced to the general public one year ago with the release of ChatGPT, users have become more knowledgeable about how to make effective prompts, which in turn yields better results more quickly – and they probably have an edge at work because they’re saving more time as a result,” Blackmore says.