More Australians are using artificial intelligence technology than their American and European counterparts, research from Google has found, and many are deploying it at work.
But Australians are still more concerned than excited about the potential impacts of the technology, even as their optimism about it grows.
Google released the findings on Friday in its second Life with AI study which asked more than 21,000 people worldwide for their thoughts on the technology.
Workers are using AI to help with writing, brainstorming and problem-solving, the study shows. (Jennifer Dudley Nicholson/AAP PHOTOS)
The data comes as the Tech Council of Australia names AI the defining technology trend of 2025, and the federal government considers mandatory restrictions on its high-risk use in Australia.
The internet giant teamed with market researcher Ipsos to ask 1000 Australians about their use of generative AI tools and found almost half had used the technology in the past year, up 13 per cent from 2023.
The figure also represented greater use of AI than in the US (29 per cent) and Europe (42 per cent).
Almost three in four Australians using AI said they were deploying it at work to assist them with writing, brainstorming, problem-solving and summarising long or complex information.
Optimism about the technology also picked up during 2024, the survey found, with 52 per cent of Australians saying AI would benefit them and 47 per cent reporting that AI would change jobs and industries for the better.
Experience using the technology was helping to shift opinions about it, Google Australia and New Zealand managing director Mel Silva said, and would continue to evolve as more people tried it.
Google's Mel Silva says Australians are gaining a greater understanding of ways to use AI. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)
"We're seeing a shift from experimentation to an understanding of the real-world benefits for Australians and our economy," she said.
"After increasingly using the technology, more Australians believe AI will benefit them and have a positive impact on Australia's economy."
But even though more Australians used the technology, their concerns about AI still outweighed their excitement.
More than half of all Australians surveyed were concerned about its impact on society, economies and industries (53 per cent) - 10 per cent higher than the global average.
The findings arrived days after the Tech Council of Australia's Tech Leaders Survey named AI as the leading technology trend of the year, followed by cybersecurity and sustainability.
Australian businesses would use AI technology to boost productivity in 2025, Tech Council chief executive Damian Kassabgi said, after a year of growth in 2024.
But firms will need to heed restrictions on high-risk uses of the technology likely to be revealed later in 2025 following the introduction of Voluntary AI Safety Standards in September.