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Why AI Isn’t Making You More Productive (And the Data Finally Explains It)

New research suggests AI may be slowing work down, not speeding it up. Here’s why that matters and what to do instead.

Author

Glenda Carnate
January 21, 2026

Read time: 2.5 minutes

Have you ever thought to yourself, "Why do I feel like using AI makes me more productive and yet I have not accomplished anything all day?"... it is not just your imagination!

This paradox begins when a user intends to use AI to speed up work that typically takes them 1 hour. Initially, the user receives a decent AI-generated output, and then, after tweaking the output with some changes to the prompt or the way AI generated it, they eventually complete their project. For some, it was faster than expected by the clock... whereas for others, it was faster than expected by their mental processing. The user frequently finishes their project, but experiences a greater-than-anticipated mental workload, which results in confusion... If this were a faster way of producing a similar output, then why does it require a greater amount of cognitive resources?

JP Gownder, vice president and principal analyst at a global market analytics firm, has been a highly vocal critic of AI's economic potential. According to his analysis of the productivity data published across all industries, his findings are relatively straightforward: we’re simply “not seeing” an AI-driven boost to productivity in any of the available data. (Source: Futurism, 2026)

How to Use AI Without Losing Time?

1. Drafting with AI, Not Decision Making
AI is best at providing you with a draft of your project, whereas a human can complete it. A human must provide judgment on what to do next.

2. Time Box Your Use of AI
If you can’t get an improvement in results within 5 to 10 minutes of using AI for a specific task, stop using it and continue to work manually.

3. Standardizing Your Prompts One Time
If you keep creating new prompts every time you use AI, you will be less efficient. You can create a library of reusable prompts.

4. Don’t Use AI for Any Task Where You Are Already Quick
The only place you will see an actual increase in speed using AI is where there is already an issue.

5. Measuring Output vs. Inputs
When determining productivity, the measure is what has been produced, NOT how much time you spent using AI, or, for that matter, any other method of producing your final project.

💡Key Takeaway: 

Using AI doesn't necessarily make your job easier... however, it makes things easier to see how things are done. If the process is obvious, it will work better... yet if it is unclear, it could cause issues. The "true" value of AI usage is being able to identify the best location for using AI and its limitations.

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