78% of young Ukrainian respondents, who were asked the relevant question, have used AI at work at least once without official consent or the employer's knowledge. This is the highest share among five surveyed countries. This is reported by OLX Work based on the results of an international survey of people aged 18–29 years.
AI at work: how often does youth use it in 2026
The study covered Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany, and Romania. Among Ukrainian participants, 68% use AI for work at least a few times a month. Daily, this is done by 35%, and another 26% use such tools several times a week.
About 7% of surveyed Ukrainians use AI at work less often or not at all. Approximately a quarter indicated that they are currently not employed. Therefore, the 68% figure applies to all Ukrainian survey participants, including the unemployed.
The share of those who have used AI for professional tasks without official consent or the employer's knowledge was as follows:
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Ukraine: 78%;
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France: about 76%;
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Germany and Poland: 71% each;
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Romania: 66%.
Among Ukrainian respondents who answered this question, about 30% do so regularly, 25% did it a few times, and 22% do it occasionally. The provided figures are rounded.
Using AI without approval does not necessarily imply violating a direct prohibition. The phrasing of the question also covers working without the management's knowledge, and the given results do not indicate how many companies have official rules for using AI.
According to the head of OLX Work, Maria Abdullina, it is important for businesses to define clear principles for using such tools. This applies to both implementing AI in HR and the daily tasks of other employees.
Skills in working with AI: how does youth self-assess in 2026
57% of Ukrainian respondents rated their skills as good or very good. This is the lowest figure among the five countries: in Poland, it was 76%, in Romania 74%, in France 78%, and in Germany it exceeded 81%.
Only 21% of surveyed Ukrainians believe they possess AI skills very well and can freely apply it for various tasks. About 37% know the basic capabilities, while approximately 12% reported weak skills or none at all.
At the same time, this is the self-assessment of participants, not the results of knowledge testing. The lower confidence of Ukrainian respondents does not prove that they objectively work worse with the technology, especially considering the high frequency of its use.
In everyday life, half of the surveyed Ukrainians use AI daily, while another 34% do so several times a week. Only about 4% indicated that they never use such tools.
Despite discussions about the impact on the labor market, automation through AI was named the main threat to careers by 21% of Ukrainian participants. The geopolitical situation worries more: 33% mentioned it, the highest among the researched countries.