Only 10% of Australian workers say AI runs core processes

Appian has released research showing that only 10% of Australian workers say artificial intelligence is embedded in core business processes. The survey points to a gap between broad workplace use of AI and its integration into day-to-day operations.

More than half of surveyed employees said AI is used somewhere in their organisation, yet it remains largely outside the workflows where tasks are carried out, decisions are made and results are measured. Nearly one in three respondents said their employer still relies on standalone AI tools rather than linking them to end-to-end processes.

The findings suggest many companies have moved quickly to trial or deploy AI in visible areas of the business without making it part of central operating systems. That has left organisations with a patchwork approach at a time when executives are under pressure to show measurable returns from investment in automation and data tools.

Luke Thomas, Vice President, Asia Pacific and Japan, Appian, said the results showed a disconnect in how businesses are adopting the technology.

"AI is being introduced across organisations, but often not in the processes that actually run the business. Just 10% of Australian workers say AI is embedded into core business processes, which lags behind global findings from a recent Harvard Business Review Analytic Services study, sponsored by Appian, in which 18% of respondents reported that AI is primarily integrated within workflows," Thomas said.

The sector breakdown points to where AI is gaining traction first. Employees most commonly reported AI use in customer service at 20% and in marketing at 17%, while lower shares reported adoption in finance at 8% and in human resources at 6%.

That pattern suggests businesses may be favouring functions seen as easier or less risky to test AI in, rather than applying it to the organisation's operational backbone. For finance leaders and operations teams, the figures add to a growing debate over whether early AI spending is producing sustainable productivity gains.

Thomas said the issue was not whether companies were adopting AI, but where and how they were doing so.

"Process is how organisations structure work, make decisions and serve customers. When AI isn't connected to that, it lacks the context, control and visibility needed to deliver meaningful outcomes and, importantly, to measure its impact," Thomas said.

Mixed results

The research also found a mismatch between expectation and experience. More than 46% of employees described their organisation's expectations of AI as optimistic or overly optimistic, yet only 23% said they had seen significant improvements from its use.

A further 11% reported no measurable impact, while 15% said it was too early to tell. The numbers suggest many organisations remain at an early stage of translating interest in AI into consistent business outcomes.

For management teams, that gap is significant. Companies across Australia have increased spending on digital transformation and automation, but employee responses indicate many of those projects have yet to deliver broad gains across everyday work.

"Adoption alone isn't the issue when it comes to delivering value from AI, it's application. Many organisations have introduced AI, but until it is embedded into core processes, where work actually happens, it becomes difficult to drive consistent improvements," Thomas said.

Barriers persist

Employees identified skills and talent shortages as the biggest obstacle to wider AI use, with 27% citing that factor. Integration with existing systems was cited by 20%, governance concerns by 14%, and a lack of clear strategy by 13%.

Those responses show the barriers are not limited to technical deployment. Organisations are also wrestling with workforce readiness, oversight, and the practical challenge of integrating AI tools with existing applications and data sources.

At the same time, the survey indicates companies are starting to shift from experimentation towards integration. The most common priority for the next 12 to 24 months was embedding AI into core systems and processes, cited by 32% of respondents. That ranked ahead of expanding existing use cases (19%) and continuing experimentation (17%).

The findings align with a broader trend in the technology market, where buyers are moving beyond standalone assistants and chatbot trials to ask whether AI can be integrated into transaction systems, compliance frameworks, and business rules. Without that step, organisations may struggle to compare costs with productivity gains or service improvements.

Thomas pointed to one example in Queensland to illustrate where a more embedded approach can produce measurable results.

"Organisations are understandably optimistic about what AI can deliver, but the results are still varied. In many cases, employees are seeing isolated improvements rather than consistent gains across day-to-day work, which makes it harder to build long-term confidence," Thomas said.

He also cited work with the National Injury Insurance Scheme Queensland.

"AI has enormous potential, but its value becomes clear when it's integrated into the processes that run the business and applied to real operational challenges. This is the case for the National Injury Insurance Scheme Queensland (NIISQ), which supports individuals seriously injured in motor vehicle accidents on Queensland roads. NIISQ uses Appian's gen AI capabilities to extract and identify fields for invoice processing with more than 80% data extraction accuracy. AI has delivered strong results for NIISQ with a 12x ROI and a 50% reduction in manual effort," Thomas said.

"Australian organisations risk limiting AI's impact if they adopt it in a piecemeal way. Adding tools to solve isolated tactical problems won't translate into meaningful performance gains. That requires applying AI across core business activities," Thomas said.