Which industries are leading the surge in usage in Canada?
More than one in five Canadian workers (22%) used generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) at work in the year ending in mid-2025, and use is rising quickly, Statistics Canada reported.
GenAI — tools such as ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini — was, at 22%, "the most common automation technology used by Canadians at work," according to the report. Natural language processing (11%), voice recognition software (6%) and machine learning (5%) followed.
Adoption is climbing fast. StatCan found that GenAI use "nearly doubled over the study period," rising from 17% in September 2024 to 30% in July 2025.
Other technologies grew more modestly. Natural language processing edged up roughly two percentage points to 12%, while machine learning rose about two points to 6% over the same period.
The federal government has committed to fast-tracking the immigration of skilled AI workers, and to retaining them once they arrive, under AI for All: Canada's new national artificial intelligence strategy.
Use concentrated in knowledge industries
GenAI use was heavily concentrated by industry, according to StatCan. Workers in professional, scientific and technical services were most likely to report using it in the previous 12 months (52%), followed by educational services (42%) and finance, insurance, real estate, rental and leasing (38%).
Use was lowest in industries the agency described as "characterized by manual and customer-facing tasks." Those included accommodation and food services (5%), agriculture (6%) and retail trade (9%).
The spread matters for HR teams overseeing multi-sector workforces, because AI governance and training needs differ sharply from one business unit to the next.
Education and occupation shape uptake
Adoption also varied by occupation. StatCan found that 49% of workers in natural and applied science occupations — a group that "includes computer and information systems professionals, architects and engineers" — had used GenAI, followed by 38% of workers in management roles.
The widest gap was educational. Workers in jobs that typically require a bachelor's degree or higher were far more likely to have used GenAI (44%) than those in roles usually requiring a high school diploma or less (10%) or with no formal educational requirements (3%).
That gap is relevant for HR, because employees in lower-credential roles may be getting the least exposure to tools increasingly tied to productivity. StatCan did not report whether the gap reflected differences in job tasks, employer policy or access to the technology.
Here’s how employers can maximize AI for their gain, according to experts.
“Organizations must be more upfront about how they’re using AI in the workplace if they want a competitive advantage and want to earn – and keep – the trust of their employees,” Dan Schawbel, managing partner at Workplace Intelligence, previously said.
"AI is rapidly moving from experimentation to enterprise-wide adoption, and the industry is entering a phase where accountability and outcomes will define success," said Rajesh Chandiramani, chief executive officer at Comviva. "Organisations will increasingly focus on connecting AI investments directly to business metrics — whether it is revenue growth, customer lifetime value, or operational efficiency.
“The real opportunity lies in building the right measurement frameworks and data foundations that enable this shift. Those who can translate AI from a capability into a consistently measurable business driver will be best positioned to lead in the next phase of digital transformation."
The StatCan study, published in Insights on Canadian Society, profiled workers aged 15 to 69 "who used AI and automation technologies at work during the previous year," surveyed from the fall of 2024 to the summer of 2025.
