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Shifting Work Patterns with Generative AI

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Listed:
  • Eleanor Wiske Dillon
  • Sonia Jaffe
  • Nicole Immorlica
  • Christopher T. Stanton

Abstract

We present evidence from a field experiment across 66 firms and 7,137 knowledge workers. Workers were randomly selected to access a generative AI tool integrated into applications they already used at work for email, meetings, and writing. In the second half of the 6-month experiment, the 80% of treated workers who used this tool spent two fewer hours on email each week and reduced their time working outside of regular hours. Apart from these individual time savings, we do not detect shifts in the quantity or composition of workers' tasks resulting from individual-level AI provision.

Suggested Citation

  • Eleanor Wiske Dillon & Sonia Jaffe & Nicole Immorlica & Christopher T. Stanton, 2025. "Shifting Work Patterns with Generative AI," Papers 2504.11436, arXiv.org, revised Nov 2025.
    • Handle: RePEc:arx:papers:2504.11436
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Erik Brynjolfsson & Daniel Rock & Chad Syverson, 2021. "The Productivity J-Curve: How Intangibles Complement General Purpose Technologies," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 333-372, January.
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    5. repec:osf:osfxxx:hdjpk_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Kathryn Bonney & Cory Breaux & Catherine Buffington & Emin Dinlersoz & Lucia Foster & Nathan Goldschlag & John Haltiwanger & Zachary Kroff & Keith Savage, 2024. "Tracking Firm Use of AI in Real Time: A Snapshot from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey," Working Papers 24-16, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    7. Alexander Bick & Adam Blandin & David Deming, 2023. "The Rapid Adoption of Generative AI," On the Economy 98843, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
    8. Goodman-Bacon, Andrew, 2021. "Difference-in-differences with variation in treatment timing," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 254-277.
    9. Otis, Nicholas G. & Clarke, Rowan Philip & Delecourt, Solene & Holtz, David & Koning, Rembrand, 2023. "The Uneven Impact of Generative AI on Entrepreneurial Performance," OSF Preprints hdjpk, Center for Open Science.
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    Cited by:

    1. David Rothschild, 2025. "Comment on "The Coasean Singularity? Demand, Supply, and Market Design with AI Agents"," NBER Chapters, in: The Economics of Transformative AI, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • L23 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Organization of Production
    • M1 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration
    • M15 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - IT Management
    • M5 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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