Nulab Surveys 1,000 Business Professionals on 'AI Team Utilization' | Almost Half Say AI Use Stops at the Individual Level, Revealing an 'AI Divide' and a Gap Between Managers and Subordinates

Nulab Inc. (Headquarters: Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture; hereinafter Nulab) conducted a "Survey on the Actual State of AI Utilization in Teams" targeting 1,000 business professionals (500 managers, 500 general employees) nationwide. As a result of the survey, while about half of the respondents felt an "improvement in individual work efficiency" due to the use of generative AI, it has not reached the level of utilization across the entire team, revealing the reality of an "unfairness due to individual differences in AI skills" and a "barrier to sharing know-how". This survey indicates the current situation where AI utilization remains at the individual efficiency level and is not sufficiently connected to team collaboration, and raises issues for its use as a "team collaboration infrastructure". Against the backdrop of these challenges, Nulab has started offering the "Backlog AI Assistant" from March 5, 2026. This is an AI feature within the project and task management tool "Backlog" that supports team progress based on operational data. Survey Name: Survey on the Actual State of AI Utilization in Teams Survey Period: Wednesday, February 25 - Friday, February 27, 2026 Survey Method: Web questionnaire Target Audience: 1,000 business professionals aged 20-59 (500 managers, 500 general staff level) Survey Area: Nationwide ■ Efficiency gains from AI remain at the "individual work" level and have not spread to the team When asked about individual changes due to the utilization of generative AI, the highest percentage, 45.8%, answered that "work efficiency improved". On the other hand, regarding changes to the team, about 20% answered that "there was no particular change," and this lack of realization was particularly evident among general staff in their 40s and 50s. Furthermore, when asked for free-text answers on "ideas for team utilization of generative AI," 68.2% of general staff answered "none in particular / don't know," revealing the reality that how to utilize it as a team is not sufficiently shared on the front lines. Thoughts from Nulab While the movement to streamline individual work with AI is progressing, it has not sufficiently led to "improvement of overall team productivity" or "new forms of collaboration," and it is believed that we are in a transitional period of exploring how to utilize it as a team.