Workers who regularly use AI say they are becoming more self-sufficient, but also less likely to seek advice, exchange spontaneous ideas, or learn how their colleagues think.
Nearly three-quarters of employees who regularly use AI now direct questions to a chatbot that they would previously have asked a colleague, according to a new global survey by MyIQ. The finding suggests that one of AI’s most consequential workplace effects may be occurring outside formal meetings, job descriptions, and productivity reports.
The survey of 22,481 adults across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Europe, Latin America, South Africa, Singapore, New Zealand, and the UAE found that 74% of regular AI users now ask the technology questions once directed to co-workers.
This shift is not primarily replacing scheduled collaboration. It is reducing the smaller exchanges that traditionally accompanied everyday work: checking an assumption, requesting a second opinion, asking how a process works, or discussing an unfinished idea.
Among respondents, 59% said they ask colleagues for second opinions less often than they did before using AI. A further 48% reported that spontaneous conversations during the working day had become less frequent.
Those interactions performed more than one function. A question could solve an immediate problem, but it could also reveal who had expertise, how another person approached uncertainty, and which colleagues were willing to help. AI can preserve the practical answer while removing much of that social information.
Sarah Meyer, Managing Director of MyIQ, said the significance of the change lies not simply in who, or what, provides the answer.
“AI does not just remove a question from a colleague’s inbox. It removes the moment in which one person sees how another person thinks. Repeated across a working week, those missing exchanges can mean fewer opportunities to build trust, share judgment, and become known inside a team.”
That distinction is reflected in how employees describe their colleagues. 46% said they now know less about how the people around them think or approach problems because they have fewer reasons to ask for help. 43% reported that colleagues had become harder to read professionally.
The effects may be particularly relevant for employees who are still establishing their place within an organisation. 38% of respondents said newer workers now have fewer natural opportunities to build relationships because many routine interactions no longer occur.
The findings do not establish that AI use directly weakens workplace relationships. They do, however, indicate that employees associate greater reliance on AI with a change in how often they consult, observe, and informally learn from one another.
That change also carries an apparent benefit. 71% of respondents said AI had made them feel more self-sufficient at work, while 62% reported greater comfort making decisions independently than they had felt a year earlier.
The tension lies in what independence may displace. 44% said they now validate their thinking with AI rather than another person. At the same time, 53% described their working day as more transactional than it had been before they adopted the technology.
The pattern points to a broader distinction between individual efficiency and collective understanding. A worker may receive an answer faster without learning which colleague has relevant experience. A decision may require less discussion while giving other team members fewer opportunities to contribute context, challenge an assumption, or demonstrate judgment.
Previous workplace technologies changed where communication occurred. AI is beginning to change whether some communication occurs at all.
The result is not necessarily a less collaborative workplace, but a more selective one. Employees can still arrange meetings, exchange messages, and work together on formal tasks. What is becoming optional is the brief, unscheduled contact that once happened because another person was the fastest available source of information.
Those exchanges rarely appeared in conventional productivity measures. Yet the MyIQ findings suggest they helped workers interpret one another, distribute informal knowledge, and develop professional trust. As AI makes solitary problem-solving easier, organisations may need to pay closer attention to the forms of workplace learning and social connection that efficiency alone does not capture.
About MyIQ:
MyIQ was launched in 2024 and is used by over a million individuals worldwide. It is a digital self-knowledge platform that offers more than an IQ score, with over 9 million completed tests across the various test categories, cognitive, personality, and relationships, all with personalised, actionable insights. The platform offers over 25 brain games, more than 150 intelligence puzzles, over 20 hours of expert video content, and 300+ available lessons on emotional intelligence, problem-solving, innovation, confidence-building, and decision-making. Through its IQ test, full-spectrum personality assessment, and relationship insight quiz, MyIQ delivers structured, personalized feedback that helps individuals better understand their inner world and behaviour.
MyIQ was launched in 2024 and is used by over a million individuals worldwide. It is a digital self-knowledge platform that offers more than an IQ score, with over 9 million completed tests across the various test categories, cognitive, personality, and relationships, all with personalised, actionable insights. The platform offers over 25 brain games, more than 150 intelligence puzzles, over 20 hours of expert video content, and 300+ available lessons on emotional intelligence, problem-solving, innovation, confidence-building, and decision-making. Through its IQ test, full-spectrum personality assessment, and relationship insight quiz, MyIQ delivers structured, personalized feedback that helps individuals better understand their inner world and behaviour.