ActivTrak’s Productivity Lab released an analysis October 29 finding longer workday spans among AI users in its dataset than among workers classified as non-users.
The research examined digital activity from 9,140 knowledge workers across 467 enterprises between April 1 and September 25, 2026. It used the company’s behavioral data rather than an employee survey.
AI users’ workday spans ranged from 8.4 to 9.1 hours, compared with 7.6 hours for non-users. A workday’s span should not be read as uninterrupted time spent working.
The lab also reported shorter uninterrupted focus sessions among heavy AI users: 37.8 minutes on average, compared with 48.2 minutes for light users.
It defined heavy use as more than 45 minutes and at least five sessions daily; light use was less than 10 minutes daily.
These are observed associations within a company dataset. They do not establish that AI caused longer days, that workers performed comparable jobs or that the results represent every workplace.
The findings describe measured activity patterns, rather than a direct test of work quality or the value of completed tasks.
Sources: ActivTrak — October 29 Research Release and Definitions: https://www.activtrak.com/news/productivity-lab-ai-users-longer-workdays/