The Automation Anxiety Report™ 2026

We surveyed 1,500 Americans who are currently employed full-time and asked them directly about their relationship with AI at work: their fears, behaviors, and the gaps between what they claim and what they can do. What they told us reveals a workforce under pressure. 69% expect parts of their job to be automated within 24 months, yet only 38% feel prepared to use AI tools effectively. The data documents a system-wide pattern of misrepresentation that spans every generation, demographic, and industry.

The report introduces three structural conditions reshaping the 2026 workforce: the AI Skills Bubble, in which 63% of workers have lied or exaggerated their AI capabilities; the Double Distortion, in which the same workforce simultaneously limits the AI adoption their employers are paying for; and the Verification Vacuum, in which 64% of workers have never had their AI skills tested by an employer, creating the structural absence that lets both patterns persist.