A growing number of South Korean office workers are paying out of their own pockets for artificial intelligence tools they use at work. Among those subscribing to paid AI services, seven in 10 spend their own money regardless of whether their employer chips in, a survey showed.
Space Add, an office media company, said on the 21st that 95.2% of 881 office workers it surveyed use AI services for work. A combined 76.7% said they use AI actively or frequently.
95% of Frequent AI Users See Productivity Gains, With Documents and Data Analysis Leading
The efficiency gains were clear. Among 766 workers who use AI for at least one hour a week, 95.4% said their productivity had improved since adopting the technology.
The biggest change cited was handling more work in the same amount of time, at 62.4% in a multiple-response question. Starting tasks faster followed at 57.7%, and better quality of output at 56.5%. Just over half, 51%, said they could now handle unfamiliar subjects on their own.
Chatbots and AI search tools were the most widely used at 89.9%, followed by AI for documents and presentations at 35.4% and AI for meetings and transcription at 26.2%.
By task, writing documents and reports ranked highest at 70.6%, followed by analyzing and organizing data at 69.6%.
7 in 10 Paid Users Pay Their Own Way, Averaging 37,000 Won a Month
Many are willing to spend their own money to work faster. Of those using AI at least an hour a week, 62.4% subscribe to paid services. Seven in 10 of those paid users either cover the full cost themselves or add their own money on top of what their company provides.
Those paying out of pocket spend about 37,000 won ($26) a month on average, and 51.4% of them spend 30,000 won or more each month.
Asked why they pay, 69.1% pointed to access to advanced models and features in a multiple-response question, followed by usage limits on free versions at 64.6% and response speed and quality at 62.5%.
44% Plan to Expand AI Use, With Marketing Staff Most Eager
A substantial share plan to widen their use of AI. Among respondents using AI at least an hour a week, 44.1% said they plan to add a new AI service or upgrade to a higher-priced plan within the next six months.
By contrast, 36.3% said they would keep their usage at current levels, while just 2% said they would cut back or cancel. That makes the share planning to expand roughly 22 times larger than the share planning to scale back.
Marketing staff showed the strongest appetite for expansion. Among major job functions, 53.5% of marketing workers said they planned to add services or upgrade their plans.
Information technology staff followed at 45.8%. More than 40% of those in sales, at 43.8%, and in corporate support, at 43.7%, also said they planned to expand their use of AI.
Han Tae-woong, chief operating officer at Space Add, said expectations around advanced features and usage drive the decision to pay, so a communication strategy built around differentiated service value could be a competitive approach for the AI industry as well.