Indeed's 2026 AU Jobs & Hiring Trends Report found something worth sitting with. 32% of Australian workers now use AI multiple times a week at work. An equal 32% have disengaged from it entirely — rarely using it, and seeing no need for the training that might change that.
What's genuinely interesting is that the two camps are exactly the same size — no exaggeration either way, just a clean, even split. That leaves just over a third of the workforce in the middle: not locked into either camp, and still open to influence.
That's exactly where good change management comes in — the difference between an AI rollout left to chance and one that's actively led.
- 32% of Australian workers use AI multiple times a week at work.
- An equal 32% have disengaged entirely — rarely using it, and seeing no need for training.
- Despite the AI surge, Australian labour productivity is still 5.5% below its 2022 peak. Indeed found "no clear evidence" generative AI has moved the needle yet.
- AI job postings doubled in a year, from 2.8% to 5.8% — but that growth is concentrated in large employers and data and tech roles. Small business is barely touched.
- Have you used our free AI Readiness Scorecard to check if your team is ready for AI?
Three numbers, one shape: the middle of the market is where AI adoption is missed — and where most rollouts leave people to work it out alone.
What the research says
Indeed's Hiring Lab publishes this report annually, drawing on its own posting data and a 2025 Workforce Insights Survey of Australian workers. Two numbers inside it stand out.
Let's start with productivity. Australian labour productivity finished 2025 still 5.5% below its March 2022 peak, and Indeed is blunt about the cause: there is "no clear evidence" that generative AI tools have lifted productivity growth so far, with forecasts revised down rather than up. Two years into the AI surge, the tools are in more hands and the number they were meant to shift hasn't moved.
Then there's who the AI job market is actually opening up for. Postings mentioning AI doubled in a year, from 2.8% to 5.8% — but that growth sits overwhelmingly inside large employers and data, analytics and software roles. For most small and medium businesses, the AI hiring boom is happening somewhere else entirely.
Your move
Put those numbers together and there's a genuinely hopeful story here. The 32% already using AI weekly aren't naturally more capable — they found their own way through, which proves people run with the right support the moment they have it. The other 32% aren't behind by nature either. They just haven't had anyone show them how yet — and once someone does, they're just as capable of making the exact same shift the other 32% already made.
The 32% who disengaged didn't decide AI wasn't for them. They decided nobody was going to show them how, and stopped trying.
Before you decide your next step, use our free AI Readiness Scorecard. It looks at the five areas that determine whether a rollout gets real adoption — Governance, Transparency, Manager Readiness, Training, and Measurement — and shows you exactly where your team stands, with recommendations for your next actions. Ten questions, about 4 minutes, no sign-up.
