Three in 10 pros spend at least half their workday copying information between AI and other systems
- AI increases workloads: 40% of users handle a higher volume of tasks because they're overseeing AI output or decisions
- Productivity expectations are rising anyway: Six in 10 say their organization counts on more from them since AI was introduced.
- Workers are going rogue: 72% circumvent their organization’s AI restrictions.
NEW YORK, Aug. 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- While organizations are investing heavily in AI to improve productivity, new research from HERE Enterprise (here.io) shows enterprise users are spending as much effort managing AI as they are benefiting from it. Released today, its AI Toggle Tax Report reveals professionals working in highly regulated industries are spending more time distracted by alerts, searching for information, and re-keying data.
Much of the conversation around how AI affects day-to-day work has focused on software developers and technical users. HERE Enterprise surveyed 1,000 U.S.-based finance, healthcare and public sector professionals to better understand their experience navigating strict compliance requirements against increasing productivity expectations in the AI era.
Rather than enabling work, the research found that AI is creating a new kind of “Toggle Tax”: the cognitive cost of constantly switching between applications, and now re-entering AI information in the process.
Among the key findings:
AI management intensifies the Toggle Tax
- Three in 10 AI users spend at least half of a typical workday re-entering information between AI tools and other systems.
- Half say the number of alerts, notifications, or messages they receive has increased since introducing AI.
- Sixty-four percent say AI has negatively impacted how they access applications and content at work. Of those, 32% juggle more applications, 28% spend more time searching for information, and 26% keep more tabs open.
Among respondents who said AI has worsened their overall work experience, 66% reported greater mental fatigue and emotional burnout, while 45% said they’re spending more time managing AI than performing their core responsibilities. Many worry that they're training AI to replace them (24%) or falling behind because they don't know how to use it safely (26%).
Six in 10 workers say productivity expectations have increased since AI was introduced, even though it hasn’t reduced their workloads
- Half of respondents (48%) report that AI has made their jobs harder or created roughly as much work as it’s saved.
- Forty percent now handle a higher volume of tasks because they’re overseeing AI output or decisions.
- Twenty-six percent find that the cases or issues that reach them are harder than they used to be.
Seventy-two percent of respondents admit to navigating around their organization’s AI restrictions. Of those:
- Thirty-six percent use AI tools on personal devices to keep it off company systems.
- Thirty-four percent use personal AI accounts on company-issued devices.
- Only twenty-seven percent manually remove or anonymize sensitive data before putting it into an AI tool.
- Fifteen percent don’t abide by AI restrictions because they don’t know their organization's policy.
“Employees are under intense pressure to be more productive, so it’s not surprising many are turning to consumer AI tools outside their approved environments,” said Mazy Dar, CEO of HERE. “Whether they're bypassing policy or simply unsure what the rules are, the research highlights the need for enterprise AI experiences that are both user-friendly and properly governed.”
Users worry about their individual and organizational performance in the AI era
Sixty-nine percent of respondents expressed concern about succeeding in an AI-driven workplace, including worries that they'll be measured against higher standards (28%) or make more mistakes because they’re moving faster (21%).
Fifty-nine percent also shared concerns about their organization’s performance, citing fears about understaffing following AI-related workforce reductions (26%), unethical AI use (22%), and declining work quality (17%).
Read the full AI Toggle Tax Report for additional findings.
Methodology
HERE commissioned Atomik Research to conduct an online survey of 1,000 adults throughout the United States employed full-time in the finance (n=400), healthcare (n=300), and the public sector (n=300). The margin of error for the overall sample is +/- 3.1 percentage points with a confidence level of 95 percent. Fieldwork took place between June 17 and June 24, 2026.
About HERE Enterprise
HERE is the enterprise AI browser purpose-built as a governed workspace — one that gives employees unified access to their applications and AI, and gives organizations the control to deploy and govern both. By bringing applications, data, workflows and AI into one secure environment, HERE helps organizations increase productivity, strengthen security and maintain full control without lock-in or fragmentation.
Trusted by 90% of global financial institutions and with clients in government, defense, healthcare and other industries, HERE isn't just another enterprise tool — it's the technology layer that unlocks everything else. HERE created the FDC3 interoperability standard, now open-sourced under FINOS which is part of Linux Foundation. Learn more at here.io.
Media contact:
Brianna Bruinsma
Firebrand Communications for HERE Enterprise
Here@firebrand.marketing
(415) 848-9175
