Almost six in 10 people working in tech say AI has made their workload bigger, not smaller, according to Web Summit's first State of the Industry report.
The breakdown: 59% of respondents said their workload had increased. 20% said it had fallen, and another 20% saw little change. Workers reporting a heavier load outnumber those reporting a lighter one by about three to one.
The sample matters. These are people who work in tech, which puts them closer to AI tools than most workers, and nobody can easily dismiss them as reluctant newcomers who never gave the software a fair try.
That sits awkwardly with the central pitch for workplace AI, which vendors have long built around time saved. If only one respondent in five reports relief, the promise is landing for a minority.
A survey like this captures how work feels, not how many hours it takes or how much gets produced, so it cannot separate wasted effort from higher output. Both explanations are plausible. Tools that speed up drafting or coding can raise expectations for how much gets done, and machine-generated work that needs checking or correcting creates tasks of its own.
The 20% who said their workload fell are the more interesting group. Whether they differ from the 59% by role, by tools or by employer would show if the problem is the technology or how companies deploy it.