AI promised supreme productivity, but it’s actually straining workloads for employees—time spent emailing has doubled, and focused work sessions fell by 9%

Tech CEOs have lauded that AI will turn workers into “superhumans” where work is optional, and more time dedicated to innovating the world—but so far, the opposite has been true for most. 

AI is actually increasing strain for most employees, as the tools add more time to menial tasks, and actually takes away from deep-focus work. Since adopting AI into their workflows, time spent across every job responsibility shot up anywhere from 27% to 346%, according to a recent ActivTrak report that analyzed 10,584 users 180 days before and after their AI adoption. 

The time spent toiling on grunt work like emails increased by 104%, while chatting and messaging climbed by 145%, and using business management tools rose 94%. 

There wasn’t a single activity category where using AI actually saved users time, with the report reaffirming that: “The data is unambiguous: AI does not reduce workloads.” Instead, professionals are now multitasking at a greater rate, and spending less of their days concentrating on complex problems.

“The prevailing assumption about AI and modern work is that both make the workday lighter. Shorter. More manageable. AI handles repetitive tasks, collaboration tools reduce friction and employees do more with less effort,” the ActivTrak report notes. 

“It’s a compelling story. It’s also not what the behavioral data shows.”

To fit these longer routine tasks in their workdays, employees have had to actually sacrifice deep-thinking time—despite CEOs promising AI would increase it. The length of the average focused, uninterrupted work session fell by 9%, and focused work hours dropped by an additional 2%, according to the report. This is a continuation of a three-year downward trend, as the share of time spent “in the zone” fell to 60% in 2025. 

CEOs say AI tools will bring an efficiency wave—and even shorter workweeks 

Tech leaders working fast to win the AI race have been spreading day-dreamy predictions about the future of the world. 

The CEO of Google DeepMind, Demis Hassabis, predicted that we’re only four years away from a “golden era” of prosperity, where the tech will help us “colonize the galaxy” and make people “superhuman” in their roles. And xAI founder Elon Musk believes that traditional work will be completely voluntary in the next 10 to 15 years thanks to the new tools, likening jobs to a hobby. And if AI only continues to get better, even “money will stop being relevant.”

“My prediction is that work will be optional. It’ll be like playing sports or a video game or something like that,” Musk said at the U.S.-Saudi Investment Forum in Washington this year. 

“If you want to work, [it’s] the same way you can go to the store and just buy some vegetables, or you can grow vegetables in your backyard,” he continued. “It’s much harder to grow vegetables in your backyard, and some people still do it because they like growing vegetables.”

Leaders are even speculating that AI efficiency gains will be so great that workweeks will shorten across the board. Zoom CEO Eric Yuan predicts that AI will lighten the load, enabling staffers to only come into the office a handful of days a week. 

“I feel like if AI can make all of our lives better, why do we need to work for five days a week?” Yuan told The New York Times last year. “Every company will support three days, four days a week. I think this ultimately frees up everyone’s time.”

Workers are dealing with ‘AI brain fry’ and burnout 

While some workers are having luck being more productive with the AI tools, they could be burning themselves out.

As employees tap into efficiency gains, they also take on more work in their daily routines, which could lead to burnout, according to a study from the University of California at Berkeley published this year. Burdened by a larger variety of tasks, they’re using the time typically spent for taking natural breaks to complete more AI prompting. Employees need time to recharge—otherwise they run the risk of actually becoming less productive. 

“AI brain fry” has also crept up as an issue in tech-forward workplaces. Employees are overwhelmed by intense oversight of AI tools, and it’s worsening their mental fatigue, according to a 2026 study from Boston Consulting Group. And the data showed that the number of AI tools doesn’t always necessarily link to increased productivity; those who used three or fewer AI tools self-reported improved efficiency, while it plummeted for those who used four or more.

“People were using the tool and getting a lot more done, but also feeling like they were reaching the limits of their brain power, like there were too many decisions to make,” Julie Bedard, study author and managing director and partner at Boston Consulting Group, told Fortune this year. “Things were moving too fast, and they didn’t have the cognitive ability to process all the information and make all the decisions.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com