Survey: AI-generated work is creating hidden rework costs for U.S. employers

By AI, Created 11:34 AM UTC, May 20, 2026, /AGP/ – A Founder Reports survey of 2,078 U.S. workers found that 45% have had to fix a coworker’s work they thought leaned too heavily on AI, rising to 59% among daily AI users. The results point to a growing quality-control burden, especially for managers and senior leaders.

Why it matters: - AI use is not just speeding up work. The survey suggests it is also creating a hidden rework burden that falls on coworkers, managers and reviewers. - That matters for productivity, trust and quality control as AI adoption spreads across workplaces.

What happened: - Founder Reports surveyed 2,078 employed adults in the United States in April 2026. - 45% of workers said they have had to fix or redo a coworker’s work that they believe relied too heavily on AI. - Among workers who use AI tools daily, the share rose to 59%. - The report says 89% of workers have used AI for work and 60% use it daily or weekly.

The details: - 7% of respondents said fixing a coworker’s AI-generated work happens regularly. - 22% said it has happened a few times. - 16% said it happened once or twice. - Among weekly AI users, 49% have experienced the problem. - Among workers who rarely use AI, the rate drops to 28%. - Among non-users, the rate falls to 16%. - 57% of managers and above said they have had to fix AI-generated work from a coworker, compared with 38% of individual contributors. - By seniority, 53% of managers, 65% of senior managers, 61% of directors, 63% of VPs and 63% of C-suite executives reported cleaning up AI-reliant output. - At companies where AI use is required, 73% of workers said they have had to fix a coworker’s AI output. - At those companies, 17% said it happens regularly. - That compares with a 30% rework rate at companies with no AI policy. - 44% of workers said their employer has no clear AI policy or they are not sure one exists. - At companies with fewer than 10 employees, 59% of workers reported no policy or uncertainty. - At companies with 1,000 or more employees, that figure was 34%. - 43% of workers said they trust a coworker’s output less when they know AI was involved. - 20% said they trust AI-assisted work more. - 77% said they review AI-assisted work more carefully. - 36% said they review it much more carefully. - The full report is available at founderreports.com. - The study used the Prolific research platform and included full-time workers at 80% and part-time workers at 20%. - The sample covered 22 departments and included workers across company size, seniority, education and age groups. - Respondents were screened for U.S. residency and current employment status.

Between the lines: - The findings suggest AI adoption is shifting some of the labor cost from the original task to the review and correction stage. - The higher rework rates among managers and senior leaders indicate that oversight functions are absorbing much of the quality-control burden. - The trust gap suggests many employees are treating AI-assisted work as lower-confidence output, even as AI use becomes routine. - Workers under 40 were more skeptical of AI-assisted work than older colleagues, which cuts against the assumption that younger employees are uniformly more accepting of AI.

What’s next: - Founder Reports says the report includes additional data on trust, scrutiny and demographic breakdowns. - Employers may face more pressure to set clearer AI policies as use expands and correction costs become more visible. - The company did not say whether it plans follow-up research, but the current findings point to a workplace issue that could grow as AI use becomes more common.

The bottom line: - AI may be making individual employees faster, but the survey suggests the cleanup work is being pushed onto everyone else.