Does AI make your job more difficult? — Work data 2026

Questions

For each factor that made your job harder, was AI or AI agents a reason?

scale
Optional
v2026.1
Carries forward JobDifficulty

In the past 6 months, which factor has done the most to make your job harder to do?

single select
Optional
v2026.1
Randomized

Data

	No, AI or AI agents were not a reason	Yes, AI or AI agents contributed, but were not the main reason	Yes, AI or AI agents were the main reason	I’m not sure
Unclear priorities or requirements	2,084	597	202	126
Inefficient processes, workflows, or coordination	1,812	560	205	61
Not enough time, staffing, or resources	1,753	511	192	98
Poor documentation or knowledge sharing	869	229	123	62
Unreliable systems, infrastructure, or environments	832	344	253	85
Lack of support from teammates, managers, or mentors	517	143	62	27
Lack of access to the right tools or platforms	282	109	90	18

Use this data

The Markdown table shows one column per segment; the CSV and JSON carry every measure.

Citation

Response data is released under the ODbL 1.0, which asks that you attribute it.

Stack Exchange Inc. (2026). “Does AI make your job more difficult?”. Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2026. Licensed under ODbL 1.0. https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2026/work/data/job-difficulty-ai

JSON

Structured for code, with the question, the year and the source url alongside the numbers.

{
  "question": "Does AI make your job more difficult?",
  "dataId": "JobDifficultyAI",
  "asked": "For each factor that made your job harder, was AI or AI agents a reason?",
  "year": "2026",
  "url": "https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2026/work/data/job-difficulty-ai",
  "demographic": {
    "id": "all-respondents",
    "type": "all",
    "name": "All Respondents",
    "n": 12246,
    "share": null
  },
  "series": [
    "No, AI or AI agents were not a reason",
    "Yes, AI or AI agents contributed, but were not the main reason",
    "Yes, AI or AI agents were the main reason",
    "I’m not sure"
  ],
  "columns": [
    {
      "key": "series",
      "header": "Segment",
      "unit": "",
      "numeric": false
    },
    {
      "key": "response",
      "header": "Does AI make your job more difficult?",
      "unit": "",
      "numeric": false
    },
    {
      "key": "count",
      "header": "Respondents",
      "unit": "",
      "numeric": true
    }
  ],
  "licence": {
    "name": "ODbL 1.0",
    "url": "https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0/",
    "holder": "Stack Exchange Inc."
  },
  "source": "Stack Overflow Developer Survey",
  "data": [
    {
      "series": "No, AI or AI agents were not a reason",
      "response": "Unclear priorities or requirements",
      "count": 2084
    },
    {
      "series": "No, AI or AI agents were not a reason",
      "response": "Inefficient processes, workflows, or coordination",
      "count": 1812
    },
    {
      "series": "No, AI or AI agents were not a reason",
      "response": "Not enough time, staffing, or resources",
      "count": 1753
    },
    {
      "series": "No, AI or AI agents were not a reason",
      "response": "Poor documentation or knowledge sharing",
      "count": 869
    },
    {
      "series": "No, AI or AI agents were not a reason",
      "response": "Unreliable systems, infrastructure, or environments",
      "count": 832
    },
    {
      "series": "Yes, AI or AI agents contributed, but were not the main reason",
      "response": "Unclear priorities or requirements",
      "count": 597
    },
    {
      "series": "Yes, AI or AI agents contributed, but were not the main reason",
      "response": "Inefficient processes, workflows, or coordination",
      "count": 560
    },
    {
      "series": "No, AI or AI agents were not a reason",
      "response": "Lack of support from teammates, managers, or mentors",
      "count": 517
    },
    {
      "series": "Yes, AI or AI agents contributed, but were not the main reason",
      "response": "Not enough time, staffing, or resources",
      "count": 511
    },
    {
      "series": "Yes, AI or AI agents contributed, but were not the main reason",
      "response": "Unreliable systems, infrastructure, or environments",
      "count": 344
    },
    {
      "series": "No, AI or AI agents were not a reason",
      "response": "Lack of access to the right tools or platforms",
      "count": 282
    },
    {
      "series": "Yes, AI or AI agents were the main reason",
      "response": "Unreliable systems, infrastructure, or environments",
      "count": 253
    },
    {
      "series": "Yes, AI or AI agents contributed, but were not the main reason",
      "response": "Poor documentation or knowledge sharing",
      "count": 229
    },
    {
      "series": "Yes, AI or AI agents were the main reason",
      "response": "Inefficient processes, workflows, or coordination",
      "count": 205
    },
    {
      "series": "Yes, AI or AI agents were the main reason",
      "response": "Unclear priorities or requirements",
      "count": 202
    },
    {
      "series": "Yes, AI or AI agents were the main reason",
      "response": "Not enough time, staffing, or resources",
      "count": 192
    },
    {
      "series": "Yes, AI or AI agents contributed, but were not the main reason",
      "response": "Lack of support from teammates, managers, or mentors",
      "count": 143
    },
    {
      "series": "I’m not sure",
      "response": "Unclear priorities or requirements",
      "count": 126
    },
    {
      "series": "Yes, AI or AI agents were the main reason",
      "response": "Poor documentation or knowledge sharing",
      "count": 123
    },
    {
      "series": "Yes, AI or AI agents contributed, but were not the main reason",
      "response": "Lack of access to the right tools or platforms",
      "count": 109
    },
    {
      "series": "I’m not sure",
      "response": "Not enough time, staffing, or resources",
      "count": 98
    },
    {
      "series": "Yes, AI or AI agents were the main reason",
      "response": "Lack of access to the right tools or platforms",
      "count": 90
    },
    {
      "series": "I’m not sure",
      "response": "Unreliable systems, infrastructure, or environments",
      "count": 85
    },
    {
      "series": "I’m not sure",
      "response": "Poor documentation or knowledge sharing",
      "count": 62
    },
    {
      "series": "Yes, AI or AI agents were the main reason",
      "response": "Lack of support from teammates, managers, or mentors",
      "count": 62
    },
    {
      "series": "I’m not sure",
      "response": "Inefficient processes, workflows, or coordination",
      "count": 61
    },
    {
      "series": "I’m not sure",
      "response": "Lack of support from teammates, managers, or mentors",
      "count": 27
    },
    {
      "series": "I’m not sure",
      "response": "Lack of access to the right tools or platforms",
      "count": 18
    }
  ]
}

Markdown

A formatted table, ready to paste into a document, an issue or a prompt.

|  | No, AI or AI agents were not a reason | Yes, AI or AI agents contributed, but were not the main reason | Yes, AI or AI agents were the main reason | I’m not sure |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| Unclear priorities or requirements | 2,084 | 597 | 202 | 126 |
| Inefficient processes, workflows, or coordination | 1,812 | 560 | 205 | 61 |
| Not enough time, staffing, or resources | 1,753 | 511 | 192 | 98 |
| Poor documentation or knowledge sharing | 869 | 229 | 123 | 62 |
| Unreliable systems, infrastructure, or environments | 832 | 344 | 253 | 85 |
| Lack of support from teammates, managers, or mentors | 517 | 143 | 62 | 27 |
| Lack of access to the right tools or platforms | 282 | 109 | 90 | 18 |

Spreadsheet

.csv is a plain text format which most spreadsheet software can open.