74% of AI users now ask chatbots, not co-workers

A MyIQ analysis of nearly 22,500 adults suggests AI is starting to replace a specific kind of workplace interaction: the quick question to a colleague. According to the report, 74% of regular AI users now ask AI questions they previously would have asked co-workers.

That shift appears to be changing the rhythm of office life. About 48% of respondents said they now have fewer spontaneous conversations during the workday, and 53% said their work has become more transactional since adopting AI.

The findings land awkwardly alongside years of return-to-office pressure. Employers have often justified office mandates by pointing to in-person collaboration, ad-hoc conversations, and the kind of informal learning that happens when people work side by side. But if routine questions are increasingly going to AI, one of the clearest arguments for commuting starts to weaken.

Newer employees may be feeling that change most sharply. Roughly 38% of respondents said newer workers now have fewer natural chances to build relationships because routine questions are being redirected to AI rather than other people.

“Repeated across a working week, those missing exchanges can mean fewer opportunities to build trust, share judgment, and become known inside a team.”

There is an upside for workers, at least from their perspective. Nearly 62% said they feel more comfortable making decisions independently than they did a year ago, and 71% said they feel more self-sufficient at work.

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Still, the report argues that a chatbot may provide a fast and often factually correct answer without offering the social cues or organizational context a colleague would add. TechRadar also points to a separate SurveyMonkey study showing 77% of workers want more chances to brainstorm with colleagues and 61% want stronger cross-team connections.

Taken together, the surveys suggest employees are embracing AI for speed while still wanting the human collaboration that workplace culture depends on.

“As AI makes solitary problem-solving easier, organisations may need to pay closer attention to the forms of workplace learning and social connection that efficiency alone does not capture.”