The Use of AI in
Project Management
Statistics 2024
There’s so much buzz around AI right now! Is it impacting jobs? Can it be trusted? Is it even any good? We thought we’d get straight to the point and actually ask people about their experience with AI in project management. We surveyed 211 project management software users in May 2024, and here’s what they had to say…
AI has split the project management industry.
45% of people have used AI in their project management process, but 55% have not.
Those who do use AI, use it often…
35% of people say they always use AI in project management, while 64% only use it sometimes.
…in a variety of different ways.
Most people are using AI for idea generation (77%) and content creation (76%).
Other popular uses include task automation (59%), decision-making (45%), project scheduling (42%), speeding up project completion (40%), resource allocation (33%), improving project accuracy (33%), data collection (30%), team collaboration (29%) and enhancing the stakeholder experience (29%).
Those who don’t yet use AI cited a myriad of reasons…
The biggest reason – by far – that people have not yet adopted AI tools in project management is simply a lack of awareness or understanding (51%).
Other reasons included no need for it (24%), tools aren’t good enough (22%), lack of organisational readiness (20%), quality and control concerns (20%), cost concerns (19%), ethical and privacy concerns (19%), and regulatory or compliance concerns (12%).
10% of people also marked ‘other’ and most of their responses were quite simply ‘I haven’t got around to it’, with one interesting response citing ‘it’s completely overrated.’
Regardless, most project managers see AI in their future…
81% of people think they will use AI to manage projects in the future.
And the future looks bright!
68% of people think AI will have a significant impact on the project management industry.
67% of people believe AI will significantly enhance project management efficiency.
And 95% of people believe that AI will moderately or significantly enhance project management profitability.
Those that have already implemented AI are positive about the results, despite it being early days…
58% of project managers said AI has positively impacted project quality in their business, with 37% saying it’s still too early to say.
58% of project managers said AI has positively impacted the level of output and/or ROI in their business, with 37% saying it’s still too early to say.
68% of project managers said AI has positively impacted communication and collaboration in their business, with 18% saying they’re unsure, and 14% saying it has not.
63% of project managers said AI has positively impacted project timelines and resource utilisation, with 29% saying it’s too early to say.
Other benefits include…
84% of people have benefitted from improved project efficiency after incorporating AI into their project management practices.
44% have benefitted from enhanced decision making, 43% from cost savings, 41% from a greater competitiveness in the market, 39% with streamlined communication, and 34% from better resource allocation.
Despite media ‘doom and gloom’, concerns around AI appear minimal…
55% of people have no concerns at all regarding the use of AI in project management.
Of those who have concerns, 68% are worried about data security and ethical/privacy concerns. 38% of people are concerned about job displacement and 20% are worried about the additional costs and resource requirements of AI.
Almost a quarter of people marked ‘other’ to this question and among their responses, the biggest concerns were: accuracy, incorrect information, and authenticity issues.