HBR study: What are people really using GenAI for in 2025?
Spoiler: Executives using AI for therapy (not productivity)
HBR just dropped the most comprehensive research on how business leaders actually use AI in 2025.
17,000+ people surveyed across 9 countries
Covers both enterprise and consumer use
The results? Mind-bending.
The #1 use case isn't coding, automation, or data analysis.
It's therapy and companionship.
That's right—while 74% of companies are still fumbling around trying to show AI ROI, the smartest executives have figured out something the rest of us missed: the biggest competitive advantage isn't optimizing your workflows.
It's optimizing yourself.
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Upgrading humans, not AI
Harvard Business Review tracked 38 new AI use cases across thousands of business leaders and found something that'll make every consultant rethink their playbook.
71% of organizations now use GenAI regularly, up from 65% in early 2024.
Yet only 1% call themselves "mature" in deployment.
Translation: everyone's using AI, but almost nobody knows what they're doing.
And the 1% who get it aren't using AI the way you think.
The new top 5 AI use cases among executives:
Therapy/companionship (jumped from #2)
Organizing my life (new entry)
Finding purpose (new entry)
Enhanced learning (steady)
Generating code (dropped from #1)
While everyone's measuring "productivity gains" and "task automation," the leaders who actually move the needle discovered AI's secret weapon: personal optimization.
The numbers are staggering:
→ 64% greater reduction in depression symptoms from AI therapy vs. control groups
→ $153B market for AI mental health by 2028 (40.6% CAGR)
→ 32% of people globally willing to use AI for mental health support
→ 85% of workers believe therapy should be a workplace priority
→ 63% believe AI could replace traditional therapy by 2030
Now, here's where things get interesting:
The executives using AI for personal development aren't just happier—they're measurably more effective. When your CEO is mentally sharper, strategic decisions improve. When your leadership team is better organized, execution accelerates.
So what?
The opportunity everyone's chasing isn't about replacing humans. It's about upgrading them.
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What the data tells us
70% of GenAI use is for personal reasons — not work.
→ 34% use AI for emotional support
→ 31% use it for help with life goals
→ Only 5% use it for writing or coding support
This isn’t ChatGPT for docs — it’s AI as companion, planner, and coach.
Enterprise AI is becoming agentic.
→ 84% of business leaders say GenAI is already boosting performance
→ 75% are focused on multi-agent workflows, not chat interfaces
→ EY has deployed 150+ tax-focused agents
→ Microsoft has launched agents across HR, legal, and finance
This is no longer about prompts — it’s about AI doing the work.
User sophistication is rising fast.
→ 58% of workers now use GenAI daily
→ 72% understand how prompting works
→ 67% say they expect AI to understand their preferences
→ But only 27% trust it fully
The next differentiator? Memory, trust, and personalization.
Junior roles are getting squeezed.
→ Legal, finance, ops, customer support are seeing heavy automation
→ 1 in 4 workers aged 22–28 say GenAI has made parts of their job obsolete
→ Entry-level writing, admin, and analysis tasks are declining fastest
This is happening now — not 5 years from now.
The AI stack is fragmenting — fast.
→ 43% of users now use 2 or more GenAI tools regularly
→ Top AI tools used: ChatGPT (74%), Copilot (52%), Claude (29%), Perplexity (18%)
→ B2B adoption of open-source models is accelerating
There is no single AI platform. Winning strategy = orchestration, not lock-in.
So what?
The companies winning with AI aren't just optimizing operations.
They're optimizing their people.
And that's the real competitive advantage.
Companies like EY are already deploying 150 AI agents specifically for tax-related tasks, but the real innovation is happening at the personal level.
Microsoft's Jared Spataro calls it "the most compelling AI scenario"—having AI connected to all your work data as a personal thought partner.
So, what can we learn from this?
The future belongs to organizations that realize AI's highest value isn't in the spreadsheet—it's in the human sitting behind it.
This isn't about replacing therapy with chatbots. It's about recognizing that peak performance requires peak mental state, and AI can help leaders achieve both.
What’s next: Three immediate plays for leaders
1. Audit your AI strategy beyond automation
Stop asking "What can AI do for our processes?" Start asking "What can AI do for our people?" The biggest ROI might come from personal optimization tools, not operational ones.
