While AI tools have been surrounded by hype in recent years, the Dye & Durham March 2025 Australian Market Pulse Report found that 42 per cent of respondents reported using AI for professional reasons in the six months to March, a 1-percentage-point fall on the 43 per cent who reported using AI at work in the previous six months.

That decline followed an 8-percentage-point rise between June and October 2024, and a 5-percentage-point rise between March and June 2024.

The survey of 1,616 Australians was conducted by Resolve Strategic from 26–29 March 2025.

Overall growth in the use of AI among Australians has also slowed, with 57 per cent reporting using it in the half-year to March, compared with 56 per cent in the previous six months.

Those that believe AI will become a regular tool in the workplace also plateaued at 70 per cent in March, down slightly from 72 per cent in October. This comes after a recent panel discussion outed lawyers as the “biggest non-users” of AI, despite predicted adoption moving forward.

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Dye & Durham APAC managing director, Dennis Barnhart, said the use of AI was still rising overall – but no longer at the pace of the past two years.

“With more than half of people now using or trialling AI, we may have reached a point where growth slows and the frequency or nature of its use are the things that change more rapidly,” he said.

The number of people who reported using AI for personal reasons rose to 52 per cent between October 2024 and March 2025. This followed a 7-percentage-point increase between June and October 2024, and a 5-percentage-point rise between March 2024 and June 2024, suggesting the market may be settling into more mature patterns of engagement, according to the report.

When asked what the top technology priorities should be for the new federal government, 38 per cent of respondents said guarding against online scams and hacking, and 21 per cent said stronger AI regulation, revealing potential concerns about the regulation of AI, despite the technology being integrated into everyday tools and workflows.

These figures reinforce the idea that while AI is being integrated into everyday tools and workflows, the Australian public remains wary about how it is governed.

“The early adopters are onboard and now we’re likely to see the pace of growth driven more by productivity outcomes, ethical frameworks, and role-specific applications,” Barnhart added.

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