AI is already part of everyday work, but organisations must close a confidence gap before they can unlock the next wave of AI productivity, according to new global research from TeamViewer.

While three quarters of respondents use AI daily, 61% still prefer human oversight before AI takes action — even as IT leaders expect nearly 40% of digital workplace services to run autonomously by 2030.

The global study Path to the Autonomous Workplace  examines the shift from AI assistance, where people prompt tools and review outputs, toward autonomous systems capable of detecting needs and acting on them with progressively less human intervention.

The study discovered daily use of AI, with 75%of respondents using AI at least once a day.  Only 3% report no noticeable workplace benefits from using AI, and 64% describe their experience with AI as positive.

A quarter (26%) f IT leaders describe their departments as at least partially autonomous, with nearly all (99%) IT leaders saying they would be comfortable delegating at least one task to AI.

However,  61% of total respondents prefer AI to take no independent action.

While 35% are ready to allow AI to act more autonomously on their behalf, a majority of that group (71%) are only comfortable with AI handling defined tasks. Only 1 in 20 (5%) have no concerns about AI operating without a human in the loop.

Autonomy may not be the real issue, but visibility is: 40% want AI to detect and fix issues early while keeping them informed, and 70% are comfortable with AI acting autonomously as long as they can step in when needed.

Respondents say autonomous action would be more acceptable with strong security and privacy protections (39%), notifications before major changes (36%), limits on what AI can access (36%), visible activity logs (33%) and rollback options (31%).

Recommended reading

• Will AI Agents Be the Enterprise Disruptor of 2026?
• Report: Only 13% of Firms Use Fully Autonomous AI
• Microsoft Tests AI Agents in Simulated Marketplace
• 80% of Firms Say Their AI Agents Have Taken Rogue Actions

By 2030, 33% expect AI to assist while they continue doing most tasks, 28% expect to delegate more tasks and focus on higher-value work, and only 2% expect their role to be eliminated.

The findings reveal what TeamViewer calls the AI Confidence Gap: people are increasingly comfortable using AI for assistance, but less ready to give autonomous systems greater access, authority and responsibility.

That gap is already creating a verification burden. More than half of respondents (56%) often or always verify AI outputs before relying on them, spending an average of two hours per week checking AI-generated work, while 51% say they do not always know when to trust AI and when to verify it.

“AI is already changing how people work, but the next phase will be defined by trust,” said Oliver Steil, CEO at TeamViewer.

“Organisations will not succeed by giving AI unlimited authority. They will succeed by building systems that operate safely, transparently and accountably within clearly defined guardrails.

“The real opportunity is to use AI and automation to prevent disruption, improve digital experiences, and free people to focus on higher-value work. Trusted autonomy, not unchecked automation, is what will unlock the next generation of productivity.”