Over 65% of Japanese office workers say they would face work disruptions if they could not use AI, revealing the tool's growing centrality to daily business tasks.

What happened: A survey of 360 office workers conducted between June and August 2024 found that 65.3% responded that they would face work disruptions if they could not use AI. Among those who already rely on AI, 12.2% say they "cannot work at all" without it, and 31.4% say they "cannot work smoothly," meaning roughly 4 in 10 AI-dependent workers would face serious obstacles.

Why it matters: The survey reveals that AI has become embedded in routine business operations for a significant portion of the Japanese workforce. Additionally, 11.1% of workers consult AI more often than they consult their supervisors when making decisions, and 38.9% say they consult AI regularly, suggesting AI is now functioning as a reference source alongside or even ahead of human authority in some roles.

What to watch: When asked what happens when AI becomes unavailable, 62.8% of workers cited "coding" as a task they cannot complete without it—the highest share. This is followed by "idea generation" (56.6%) and "data analysis" (55.2%), indicating that AI's role is concentrated in knowledge-intensive and analytical work rather than routine administrative tasks.