Employees who actively use artificial intelligence tools spend significantly more time working than colleagues who do not use AI. The difference can reach an hour and a half a day. In addition, active AI users experience more frequent interruptions to their concentration and switch between applications more often. These were the findings of analysts at ActivTrak Productivity Lab, who studied the digital activity of more than 9,000 employees.

AI adds up to an hour and a half to the workday

The ActivTrak study is based on digital activity data from 9,140 employees at 467 companies. Analysts examined work patterns from April 1 to September 25, 2026.

The results were unexpected given widespread expectations surrounding AI adoption. Rather than reducing working hours, AI use was associated with an increase.

Employees who actively use AI have workdays lasting between 8.4 and 9.1 hours. By comparison, those who do not use such tools work an average of 7.6 hours. This amounts to a difference of 48 to 90 minutes each day.

Nor is it simply a matter of the length of the official workday. AI users are more likely to continue working after it ends. However, the share of time spent working outside scheduled hours is almost identical for the two groups: 32.3% for active AI users versus 31.9% for everyone else. Because their workdays are longer, this translates into an additional 18 minutes of work each day in absolute terms.

Constant switching disrupts concentration

Another interesting finding concerns how work is organized. Active AI users switch between applications an average of 1.1 times per hour. For employees who do not use AI, the figure is 0.95 switches. The difference reaches 15.2%.

At the same time, active AI users have shorter periods of uninterrupted concentration. On average, they can work on a single task without interruption for 37.8 minutes. For employees who use AI moderately, the figure is 48.2 minutes—roughly 22% longer.

More intensive AI use thus goes hand in hand not only with longer working hours but also with a more fragmented workflow.

Active AI users do, however, spend less time in formal meetings: these account for about 3% of their working time, compared with 5% for employees who do not use AI.

Why automation does not necessarily shorten the workday

These findings raise an important question about how companies assess the effectiveness of AI adoption.

AI can indeed speed up individual tasks. However, the time saved does not necessarily translate into extra rest or a shorter workday. It may be filled with new assignments, additional rounds of revisions, and constant interaction with other digital tools.

As a result, an employee may get more done but work longer and shift their attention more often. An increase in the length of the workday does not in itself prove that AI reduces productivity, but it does show that saving time on individual operations does not guarantee greater overall work efficiency.

Gabriela Mauch, Chief Customer Officer and head of ActivTrak Productivity Lab, believes that leaders should assess AI adoption not by the number of employees using AI, but by concrete improvements in productivity, efficiency, and business outcomes.

It is also important to consider the study's limitations: the observed association between the intensity of AI use and the length of the workday does not in itself prove that AI is what makes people work longer. The data presented show differences between groups of employees but do not establish a clear cause-and-effect relationship.

Nevertheless, ActivTrak's findings call into question the simple assumption that automating knowledge work automatically frees up employees' time. If companies use every efficiency gain to increase workloads, AI may make work more intensive without making the workday any shorter.