How people see AI skills and job risk
Overview
Adults are not dismissing AI at work. They are separating the value of AI skills from worry about what AI does to jobs.
About 54% say AI-tool skills are very or extremely important. But 69% say AI in the workplace will lead to fewer job opportunities, and 82% are concerned about AI taking jobs from humans.
Stacked breakdown
54% say AI-tool skills are very or extremely important.
- Skills to understand and use artificial intelligence tools or technology
- Extremely important
- 21.6%
- Very important
- 31.7%
- Somewhat important
- 32.9%
- Not too important
- 9.2%
- Not at all important
- 4.7%
AI Adoption Survey July 2025
Source report pendingAI skills are treated as important
Adults tend to see AI-tool skills as part of the workplace skill set. About 54% say skills to understand and use AI tools are very or extremely important.
Another 33% call those skills somewhat important, leaving relatively few adults who say they are not too important or not at all important.
Topline
69% expect fewer job opportunities from workplace AI.
In the long run, do you think the use of AI in the workplace will lead to…
- Fewer job opportunities 66.4%
- Will not make much difference 19.9%
- More job opportunities 13.7%
AI Adoption Survey August 2025
View source dataAdditional supporting data from this section.
Stacked breakdown
82% are concerned about AI taking jobs from humans.
AI taking away jobs from humans
- Extremely concerned
- 26.2%
- Very concerned
- 26.1%
- Somewhat concerned
- 30.0%
- Not at all concerned
- 13.9%
- I’m unfamiliar with this topic
- 3.7%
AI Adoption Survey August 2025
View source dataThe jobs read is much more cautious
The long-run jobs question points in the other direction. About 69% say AI in the workplace will lead to fewer job opportunities.
Concern about job displacement is also broad. Roughly 82% are at least somewhat concerned about AI taking jobs away from humans.
Excitement exists, but it does not settle the story
Adults are almost evenly split on whether they are excited about what AI brings to their work: 33% agree, 33% disagree, and 34% are neutral.
That makes the broader pattern practical rather than simply positive or negative. AI skills matter, but the job-risk concern is still the dominant public signal.
Methodology
Full methodology- Mode
- Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
- Population
- US adults age 18+
- Field dates
- 2025-07-30 → 2025-08-04
- Base (unweighted)
- 1,509
- Margin of error
- +/- 3.1%
- Module
- AI Adoption Survey July 2025
- Sponsor
- Verasight
- Weight variable
- weight
- Weighting targets
- age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status
Sources
[4]- 01Source report pendingShows AI-tool skills are broadly treated as important.
- 02In the long run, do you think the use of AI in the workplace will lead to…Captures the strongest job-opportunity concern.reports.verasight.io/r/august-ai-survey-2025
- 03How concerned are you about the following issues surrounding AI? - AI taking away jobs from humansAdds the broader concern about AI taking jobs from humans.reports.verasight.io/r/august-ai-survey-2025
- 04Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with the following: - I’m excited about the possibilities AI brings to my workShows excitement at work is present but not dominant.reports.verasight.io/r/august-ai-survey-2025
Citation
AI Adoption Survey July 2025, fielded July 30-August 4, 2025, N=1,509 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.1%.
Source report pending