The 2026 Fifa World Cup is set to hugely increase artificial intelligence use among workers in the US, a survey has shown.
The poll found 65 per cent of respondents say they plan to use AI tools to make up for the time they spend watching World Cup matches during the workday.
The survey, created by Pennsylvania-based technology company Qlik and conducted by Censuswide, also found 90 per cent indicated they are likely to watch World Cup matches while at work.
James Fisher, chief strategy officer at Qlik, said the World Cup would be an unconventional test to see if AI lives up to the hype in terms of boosting work efficiency.
“The World Cup landing in North America isn't just a cultural moment, it's one of the first large-scale, predictable tests of whether AI can actually protect productivity when the workday is disrupted,” Mr Fisher said. “Employees are already planning to use it to catch up, reprioritise and keep work moving around matches.”
Managers who try to prevent employees from watching face an uphill battle, he added.
“The organisations that come out ahead won't be those that police every distraction, they'll be the ones that gave their teams AI connected to the right data, embedded in real workflows, so it performs when the workday gets messy, not just under ideal conditions,” he said.
Qlik's poll also shed light on which employees were most likely to watch the World Cup during shifts. About 90 per cent of those falling into the Millennial and Gen Z demographics plan to do so.
“They are also more likely to expect their AI use to increase during the tournament, with 70 per cent of Gen Z and 69 per cent of Millennials saying so, compared with 56 per cent of Gen X and 27 per cent of Baby Boomers,” a summary of Qlik's poll read.
The analysis looked broadly at what sort of flexibility employees are expecting from supervisors during the World Cup.
Thirty-eight per cent indicated they expect their bosses to let them watch matches during their shift “while still expecting work to continue as normal”, whereas 27 per cent said they “expect their employer to actively encourage flexibility through adjusted schedules”.
Fifteen per cent, however, said they expect significant restrictions and monitoring from bosses to ensure the World Cup is not a distraction for workers.
Qlik and Censuswide's research for the poll involved 2,000 US respondents aged 18 and older.
During the last World Cup in 2022, the AI boom was still in its infancy. This time, the tournament takes place amid unprecedented AI investment and bountiful apps easily accessible to billions of potential users.
Some teams even have official tie-ins with various firms and their respective AI offerings.
In May, the Iraq and Morocco squads announced an official AI platform of choice, Google's Gemini.
“This sponsorship will leverage our cutting-edge AI technology to celebrate the region’s rich sports culture and transform the fan experience,” Google said in a blog post.
As anticipation intensifies for the World Cup, however, polling in many countries shows increased concern about AI potentially causing labour disruption and unemployment, even though more consumers are readily incorporating AI tools into their daily lives.
Meanwhile, technology companies are using excitement around the World Cup to enhance current app offerings.
Apple recently announced it was expanding access to its free app, Sports, to 90 additional countries, while also adding features to allow users to keep track of World Cup scores and news.
