A new large-sample study suggests that AI is having an increasingly visible impact on Hungary’s labor market: nearly one in five Hungarian workers knows someone in their circle who has lost their job because of artificial intelligence. The survey also found that men are currently the clear winners of the AI boom, with more than twice as many describing themselves as advanced users and reporting time savings up to eight times greater than those achieved by women.

Following the research conducted in 2025, another comprehensive survey has mapped Hungarians’ artificial intelligence usage habits this year, highlighting the technology’s increasingly significant effect on the country’s labor market. Nearly one in five respondents, or 17.1%, said they know someone who has lost their job in recent times because of AI or robots.

“Artificial intelligence is becoming capable of supporting or partially automating an increasing number of tasks, so it is natural for the labor market to adapt as well. At the same time, it is important to see that this is not simply about jobs disappearing. The content of job roles and the skills expected from workers are also changing rapidly. The question today is no longer whether AI will affect our work, but how well we can adapt to it,” said Balázs Török, the AI expert and digital marketing consultant behind the research.

The survey also shows that although competition is becoming increasingly intense, ChatGPT remains the most popular AI tool among Hungarians, with 60% of respondents using the platform daily. The strongest growth, however, was recorded by Google Gemini, which is now used regularly by 35% of users. Claude is used daily by 21% of respondents, Copilot by 18%, and Perplexity by 11%.

Men Are Gaining a Much Bigger Advantage From AI

Another important finding of the study is that the benefits offered by artificial intelligence are not currently equally accessible to everyone. More than half of male respondents, or 53%, reported advanced or expert-level AI knowledge, while the same figure among women was only 22%. Nearly 40% of female respondents described their own AI use as basic or beginner level.

The difference is visible not only in confidence but also in tangible results. Among users reporting weekly time savings of 10-40 hours, there were nearly eight times as many men as women. This suggests that the productivity advantages provided by the technology are, at least for now, being realized primarily by male users.

Women Are More Loyal to Their AI Tools

There is also a significant difference between the two genders in terms of investment in AI. While 52% of female respondents do not spend anything on AI apps or subscriptions, the figure among men is only 37%. Among those who do spend money, men devote an average of around HUF 18,000 per month to AI tools, while women spend approximately HUF 12,000.

The data indicates that men not only try new solutions more often, but are also more willing to pay for advanced functions or use several different tools in parallel. This is particularly notable because the study found that users who use multiple AI tools and paid services are the ones most likely to report greater time savings. Investment may therefore often be directly linked to how effectively someone can take advantage of the technology in their work.

Interestingly, women proved to be more loyal users: 80% had not canceled a single AI subscription in the past year, while that figure was 64% among men. More than one-third of male respondents had already canceled at least one AI subscription, which may suggest that they experiment more actively with new solutions and switch more quickly when a service does not meet expectations.

More Workers Are Receiving AI Training From Their Employers

The research also shows that AI is increasingly becoming a competitiveness factor in the labor market. Employees who use these tools more confidently, develop their knowledge, and have access to organized training are gaining a clear advantage. The proportion of saved working time is noticeably higher among those who receive structured AI training than among people who use these tools independently without support.

This is especially important given that 68% of workers at large companies have already received AI training, while the figure remains much lower at smaller companies, at around 37%. Even so, this still represents an improvement compared with the results recorded in 2025.

“Experience shows that AI does not create a competitive advantage on its own. It does so when it is accompanied by knowledge, practice, and organizational support,” Török emphasized. According to the expert, companies should therefore not only provide AI tools for their employees, but also support them through training and conscious preparation. AI may increasingly become as fundamental a work tool as the internet or office software once did.

Source: Influence Media press release