Australian Workers Embrace AI But Face Frustrations, Study Finds

A new study reveals that Australian professionals are broadly optimistic about artificial intelligence, yet they frequently encounter significant hurdles when using these tools in their daily work. Research indicates that while the vast majority of white-collar employees believe AI holds great promise for the future, their present experience is often marked by inefficiency and the need for constant oversight. A striking 84% of those surveyed report that AI-generated content demands substantial editing or fact-checking, which paradoxically slows their workflow instead of speeding it up.

This widespread frustration stems from tools that fail to deliver on their potential. Four out of five Australian workers feel their current AI solutions only meet their needs moderately well. Nearly 70% express clear dissatisfaction, with their primary grievances including generic and unoriginal outputs, the tedious requirement to manually copy and paste information between different applications, and an inability for the AI to handle multi-step processes autonomously.

The data illustrates a workforce caught between high hopes and a disappointing reality. Employees are genuinely enthusiastic about AI’s capacity to revolutionize their roles, but the tools at their disposal feel more like rudimentary helpers than intelligent collaborators. Consequently, only 43% of workers feel that using AI actually frees up time for more creative or strategic responsibilities.

In direct response to these challenges, Notion has introduced a new category of AI known as Notion AI Agents. These are built directly into the company’s connected workspace and represent a significant departure from conventional AI tools. Rather than merely suggesting ideas or generating text, Notion AI Agents are designed to perform complete, multi-step tasks and execute entire workflows from start to finish.

For years, the proliferation of software-as-a-service applications has solved some problems while creating others, resulting in work becoming fragmented across numerous disconnected platforms. A related survey found that nearly half of Australian professionals use between three and four different tech platforms each day, with over a quarter using five or six. The first wave of AI was simply layered on top of this disjointed digital environment, which explains why it has often been so ineffective, it operates without the necessary context or integration to accomplish meaningful work.

Notion is positioning itself at the forefront of a shift from the SaaS era to what it terms the “agentic era.” Its AI Agents function within a single, unified workspace. They go beyond simply answering queries; they carry out complex, multi-stage assignments. This makes work less manual, as users can now collaborate not only with human colleagues but also with a team of AI agents that complete the work itself.

“The current situation for Australian professionals involves a clear disconnect,” said Andrew McCarthy, GM of ANZ, SEA and India at Notion. “They are prepared for a new phase of AI, but the tools available now force them into constant checking and editing, imposing a costly ‘productivity tax.’ We launched Notion AI Agents to eliminate that frustration. Our agent is the first of its kind for knowledge work, capable of autonomously executing complex workflows. This signifies a real transition into the era of the autonomous knowledge worker, delivering the concrete time savings the Australian market is seeking.”

Notion AI Agents are accessible via web browser and Notion desktop applications, with mobile access planned for the near future. Current subscribers to Notion AI will automatically receive access to these new capabilities.

Globally, Notion recently achieved a significant milestone of $500 million in annual revenue, a momentum reflected in its rapid expansion within Australia. Since its official launch in the Australian market earlier this year, the platform’s user base has grown quickly, with 10% of Sydney’s population actively using it in the last month. The company is capitalizing on this growth by establishing a local office and hiring a founding team to assist businesses aiming to consolidate their software tools and reclaim valuable time.

(Source: ITWire Australia)