AI Adoption Sees Rapid YoY Growth in Canadian Workplaces
CDW Canada’s report, Unlocking AI’s Potential: How to Build Trust and Capability in the Canadian Workplace, finds 50 percent of Canadian office workers are using AI tools for work, but formal organizational policies, value measurement and training lag adoption
AI use accelerates in Canadian workplaces
Adoption of AI tools across Canadian workplaces has surged in 2025, with 50 percent of office employees now reporting use of AI for work, up from 33 percent in 2024, whether approved by their employer or not. Comfort with AI is also increasing, with over half (53 percent) of employees saying they feel comfortable using AI tools, up from 45 percent in 2024, suggesting that wider adoption is fostering greater confidence.
Organizational implementation of AI has seen a significant leap, with half (50 percent) of IT decision-makers reporting integration of AI tools, up from 35 percent in 2024. Employee access to workplace-approved AI tools nearly doubled year-over-year, reaching 51 percent in 2025, compared to 28 percent in 2024. This increase in workplace adoption has fueled more weekly usage of approved tools, which rose to 55 percent in 2025 from 38 percent in 2024.
“AI adoption in Canadian workplaces has reached a tipping point in 2025, with half of employees now using AI tools for work and organizational integration seeing an uptake each year,” said Brian Matthews, Head of Services Strategy and Development, Modern Workspace at CDW Canada. “We’re seeing a clear shift from experimentation to everyday use. The increase in both comfort and access highlights how AI is rapidly becoming a trusted and essential part of the modern workplace.”
Policies and training drive comfort and trust
AI comfort levels rise significantly when training or policies are in place, with 75 percent of employees who received formal training and 78 percent of those in organizations with AI-use policies reporting higher levels of comfort using AI tools, compared to the comfort level of employees within organizations with AI tools that do not offer formal training (71 percent) and those who do not have a AI-use policies (68 percent).
Yet, these support systems remain limited. Among all employees surveyed, only 39 percent say their organization has workplace AI policies in place, and among employees with access to AI at work just 20 percent report being offered formal training. Among users with non-work-approved AI, most instead rely on informal learning methods, such as experimentation (67 percent), social media (21 percent) or online forums (20 percent), exposing organizations to unnecessary compliance and security risks.
“Employees are ready and eager to embrace AI, but a lack of guidance remains a barrier,” said Ashley Otto, Senior Product Manager, Modern Workspace at CDW Canada. “Organizations that invest in formal training, structured policies and reliable tools will not only accelerate adoption but also maximize the benefits and reduce data management risks.”
Concerns and barriers persist
Even as adoption rises and employees grow more comfortable with AI, a gap is emerging between the benefits of these tools and the risks employees perceive. Curiosity remains the dominant sentiment toward AI, with nearly half of employees both with (48 percent) and without (47 percent) access to workplace-approved tools expressing interest in exploring AI. Among those with approved tools, perceived benefits included improvements in productivity (47 percent), higher-quality output (39 percent) and faster innovation (37 percent).
At the same time, concerns remain high and, in some cases, are growing. Employees expressed they are very concerned about overdependence on AI (60 percent), job loss (44 percent) and loss of control over AI (42 percent) as it continues to rise among all respondents. Fears of sensitive or corporate data exposure through personal AI accounts (49 percent), content reliability and accuracy (36 percent) and data privacy and security (36 percent) persist among users of approved tools.
With office employees increasingly adopting AI, the share of those who do not use AI at all has fallen from 46 percent in 2024 to 31 percent in 2025. Yet, 16 percent of employees say that nothing would encourage them to use AI, unchanged from 2024. This highlights hesitancy among some employees despite growing adoption in the workplace.
This dual trend, rising adoption alongside persistent barriers, highlights the need for organizations to provide clear guidance, policies and fit-for-purpose solutions to ensure AI delivers both value and trust in the workplace.
Keeping pace with AI implementation
As more Canadian workplaces and employees adopt AI tools at a rapid pace, IT decision-makers face a unique challenge of managing this mass implementation while keeping pace with ongoing external market innovations. However, only 23 percent of organizations with approved AI tools reported engaging third-party consultants.
This leaves many internal teams to navigate adoption, governance and risk management on their own. This lack of guidance can slow down implementation, increase exposure to compliance and security risks and limit the ability to align AI use with broader business goals.
“With the pace of change in AI, it’s all too easy for organizations to fall behind if they rush into implementation without expert guidance or wait too long for their workforce to get familiar with these powerful tools,” said Brian Matthews. “It is the role of third-party experts to stay on top of industry developments and processes for integration, as organizations often don’t have the resources to do so themselves.”
To learn more about how Canadian organizations are navigating AI in the workplace, download the full 2025 Modern Workspace Report: Unlocking AI’s Potential: How to Build Trust and Capability in the Canadian Workplace.
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About the Survey
These are the findings of an online survey conducted by CDW Canada from July 3 to 15, 2025, among a sample of 1005 Canadian office workers who work in organizations with at least 20 employees and use a computer in an office setting 11 or more hours a week. The survey was conducted in English, all respondents are members of the Angus Reid Forum. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points, 95 times out of 100. The overarching goal of this study was to understand the growing relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and office work. Specifically, looking into how the technology is being integrated by organizations, used by workers both in their personal lives and at work, and the barriers and bridges to use for both non-users and infrequent users.
About CDW Canada
CDW Canada Corp. is a leading provider of technology services and solutions for business, government, education and healthcare. Established in 2003, CDW Canada is the country’s trusted advisor for cybersecurity, hybrid infrastructure and digital transformation. CDW Canada experts design, orchestrate and manage customized services and solutions, making technology work so people can do great things. Through its services-led approach, CDW Canada simplifies complex technology to empower customers to focus on their business and thrive in a rapidly evolving landscape. CDW Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of CDW Corporation (Nasdaq: CDW), a Fortune 500 company. For more information, visit www.cdw.ca.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250924750126/en/
For further information, please contact:
Julie Clivio
VP, Growth & Operations, CDW Canada
647.288.5828 | julie.clivio@cdw.ca
Source: CDW Canada Corp.
