AI saves workers hours but 83% fear being blamed for mistakes, GoTo study finds

New research from GoTo has found that 83% fear they could be blamed or even fired for an AI-related mistake.

The findings, published in The Pulse of Work in 2026: Opportunity, Risk, and Responsibility in an AI-Driven Workplace, also found that because of this fear, a third of employees said they have hesitated to use AI, meanwhile 60% said they feel pressured to use AI increase their productivity. 

Despite the fear and pressure, employees estimate that using AI saves them an average of 2.3 hours each day, according to the research. Additionally, some 42% said they would rather risk making errors with AI than be perceived as “slow” or “replaceable”.

“We’re seeing a new kind of workplace pressure: employees feel they must use AI to avoid looking replaceable, but fear repercussions if it goes wrong. That combination is exactly how you get a workforce that uses AI recklessly,” Workplace Intelligence managing partner Dan Schawbel said. 

The concerns about AI and errors are reflected in reported incidents. One in four IT leaders said AI has already made mistakes that negatively affected customers or clients, while 23% said AI mistakes had financially impacted their company.

Even among organisations that have not experienced those consequences, 91% of IT leaders said they are concerned AI will make a mistake that affects their company in the future.

AI governance and business readiness

The research also found differences in AI governance between company sizes. Just 24% of small businesses and 36% of midsize businesses said they have an AI policy in place, compared with 53% of enterprises.

Agentic AI adoption is also outpacing readiness among smaller organisations. Almost half of small businesses said they are already using or piloting agentic AI, compared with 70% of enterprises. However, 38% of small-business IT leaders said they feel unprepared to manage the technology securely, compared with 14% of enterprise IT leaders.

“Our research captures an inflection point for businesses,” GoTo CEO Rich Veldran said. 

“In the US alone, there’s an opportunity for more than $2.9 trillion in potential efficiency gains to be captured from effective AI use. But without clear guardrails, that potential is being eroded by anxiety, misuse, and unaddressed risk. 

“The organisations that close the gap with clear accountability structures, training, and policies that give employees confidence won’t just speed adoption, they’ll be the ones who pull ahead.”

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