Ricoh Survey: 91% of Executives See Value in AI Investments, But Over Half of Employees Report Increased Friction
A new Ricoh report highlights a massive perception gap in enterprise AI adoption, with nearly half of employees using unapproved 'shadow AI' tools monthly due to dissatisfaction with official software.
Japanese office equipment and IT services provider Ricoh released a new study on October 22, 2026, revealing a significant contradiction in enterprise artificial intelligence deployment: while 91% of business decision-makers believe their AI investments are delivering expected value, 53% of employees state that these tools actually create friction or additional work.
The survey analyzed four key workplace technologies—AI, communication and collaboration, data access, and workflow management—and found AI to have the least impactful productivity boost. Despite 81% of decision-makers admitting they are investing in new technology faster than they support worker adoption, 45% of employees admit to using non-approved tools, often referred to as 'shadow AI', at least monthly, creating governance and visibility challenges for employers.
Amy Loomis, VP of IDC Workplace Solutions Group, noted that fragmented technology, data, and workflows create avoidable complexity that many employees are left to navigate themselves. Hybrid workers experience the most difficulty, with 25% reporting that disconnected systems hinder collaboration across multiple environments, compared to 14% of fully remote and 16% of office-based workers.