Field diffusion · General science · Social science

German research-organization survey finds AI use in core scientific tasks

A large survey of Max Planck Society and Fraunhofer researchers measuring AI use, tasks, barriers, and perceived research impact.

Summary

A Max Planck Institute summary of a Research Policy study reports survey evidence from 6,215 researchers at the Max Planck Society and Fraunhofer Society. The study finds substantial AI use, including daily use by about a quarter of researchers, use across core research tasks, and barriers such as legal uncertainty and lack of knowledge.

AI role

Measured how researchers reported using AI tools across research stages, including ideation, coding, writing, and speed-oriented work.

Narrative role

This adds institution-level survey evidence about how AI is entering routine scientific work, complementing broader commercial researcher surveys with a peer-reviewed study of public research organizations.

Caveat

The sample covers two German research organizations and AI tools in general rather than only generative AI, so the results should not be generalized to all global researchers without caution.

Event

Date: 2025-11-27
Timeline role: Supporting
Progress relevance: Field impact
Validation: Peer reviewed

Evidence

Peer-reviewed paper · Survey

Observed metrics

researcher responses: 6,215 complete responses; The Max Planck summary states that the analysis focuses on complete researcher responses from two German research organizations.
daily or more frequent use: 25.9%; The study summary reports the share of researchers using AI tools daily or more often.
never use AI for work: 22.2%; The study summary reports the share of researchers who never use AI for work.
speed-up motivation: 50.4%; The study summary reports the share of researchers using AI to speed up their work.

Source: Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition ↗