The US might be ahead of China at AI technology, but the general public in China seems to be using AI more in their daily lives.
According to the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer Flash Poll on Trust and Artificial Intelligence, 60% of Chinese employees report using AI tools weekly or more frequently in their jobs, significantly outpacing their American counterparts at just 37%. The gap is even more pronounced compared to other Western economies, with the UK and Germany also sitting at 37%, while Brazil leads Western nations at 61%, matching China’s adoption rate.
The survey, which polled over 5,000 respondents across five major economies with more than 1,000 participants per country, reveals a striking divide in AI adoption patterns. While Silicon Valley dominates headlines about AI breakthroughs and American companies like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic lead in developing cutting-edge models, Chinese workers are integrating these technologies into their daily workflows at nearly double the rate of American employees.
This adoption gap carries significant implications for the ongoing AI competition between the world’s two largest economies. While technological leadership matters, widespread usage creates a virtuous cycle that could prove equally valuable. As millions of Chinese workers regularly interact with AI systems, they generate massive amounts of feedback data, develop intuitive understanding of AI capabilities and limitations, and create organic demand for more sophisticated tools. This grassroots adoption could accelerate China’s development of practical AI applications tailored to real-world business needs.
The data also highlights a managerial divide that transcends national boundaries. Across the five-market average, 63% of people managers use AI regularly compared to just 25% of non-managers. This means only one in four non-managers have incorporated AI into their regular workflow, suggesting enormous untapped potential for productivity gains, particularly in Western markets where overall adoption lags.
For American businesses, the findings should serve as a wake-up call. China’s edge in AI adoption could translate into competitive advantages as workers develop AI literacy faster, companies gather more implementation insights, and entire industries evolve around AI-enhanced workflows. The concern isn’t just about which country builds the best AI models, but which workforce becomes most adept at leveraging them.
The adoption disparity may stem from several factors including regulatory environments, corporate culture, and differing attitudes toward new technology. Chinese companies have historically moved faster to implement emerging technologies, while American organizations often face more cautious adoption curves influenced by concerns about job displacement, data privacy, and return on investment.
As AI capabilities continue to advance, the race may ultimately be won not by whoever creates the most sophisticated algorithms, but by whoever most effectively integrates AI into the fabric of their economy. In that contest, China’s substantial lead in workplace AI adoption suggests that American technological superiority alone may not be sufficient to maintain competitive advantage in the AI era.