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NTT DATA Business Solutions

Your employees are already using AI. The question is: are you in control?

New research reveals the rise of “Bring Your Own AI” and the growing gap between employee demand and organisational readiness. Discover how to close it with trusted, governed AI that works where your people do.

Download the report

53% of your workforce has already upgraded itself
but not necessarily with the AI tools you know about.


More than half of UK workers are already using personal AI tools and informal workarounds to improve how they work, rising to 75% among 25–34-year-olds.

But this employee-led demand for AI is creating a new leadership dilemma. The more organisations hesitate over enterprise AI because of unclear use cases, limited guardrails, data trust, risk or compliance concerns, the more employees may turn to unmanaged tools to get work done.

The report findings reflect a wider shift: workers are becoming more comfortable using AI in their personal lives, and those expectations are now entering the workplace. As sanctioned tools fail to keep up, a new Bring Your Own AI risk is emerging.

That is the governance paradox at the heart of the Good Work / Bad Work Survey 2026.

Employees are not waiting for AI strategies to land. They are already using AI to guide them through unfamiliar tasks, improve communication, answer policy questions and solve complex problems while staying in control.

The demand is there. How do organisations provide the trusted systems, training and guardrails to meet it?

We surveyed 1,657 UK workers. Explore the results.

 The NTT DATA Business Solutions 2026 Good Work vs Bad Work survey of 1,657 UK workers explores how employees experience works today, co-authored with WalkMe an SAP company, shows where friction is building, and why AI is becoming part of the everyday toolkit for getting things done.  

What’s in the report?

  • Why 53% of workers are already using personal AI tools or workarounds to improve their work experience. Rising to 75% among 25–34-year-olds.

  • How broken systems and processes are affecting productivity, experience and wellbeing, with 73% of UK workers saying they have had a negative impact.

  • What employees most want AI to help with: guiding them through unfamiliar tasks or processes (65%), making communication more effective (64%), and providing fast, accurate policy answers (61%).

  • Why workers are looking for AI support and guidance, not simply automation or replacement, with 61% wanting AI to help with complex problems while they stay in control.

  • How organisations can move from shadow AI to better-designed, better-supported work through trusted AI support in the flow of work, connected to the systems, processes and policies that shape how work actually gets done.

Download the Good Work vs Bad Work Report >

About NTT DATA Business Solutions

NTT DATA Business Solutions is a leading global IT service provider focused on SAP with a powerful ecosystem of partners. With more than 35 years of in-depth experience, we enable companies worldwide to become Intelligent Enterprises. We deliver end-to-end solutions that accelerate sustainable growth and success – from strategic consulting and implementation to managed services and beyond. As a global strategic SAP partner, we drive innovation and leverage the latest technologies to support our customers individually and across all industries. Our more than 15,300 dedicated employees in over 30 countries work passionately every day to make it happen.

NTT DATA Business Solutions is part of NTT DATA, a $30+ billion trusted global innovator of business and technology services headquartered in Tokyo. As One NTT DATA we serve 75% of the Fortune Global 100 and are committed to helping customers innovate, optimize and transform for long-term success. NTT DATA is part of NTT Group.