Would your employees ring in sick to a robot?

It is one of those questions that sounds like a joke until you look at the numbers. Would your employees ring in sick to a robot?

Moneypenny commissioned independent research with Censuswide in June 2026, surveying 2,000 nationally representative UK consumers.

We expected some resistance. What we found was more interesting than that.

Nearly a third of UK workers said yes

32% of UK consumers said they would be comfortable ringing in sick to an AI. A further 19% were neither comfortable nor uncomfortable. Only 28% said they would be uncomfortable doing so.

That means more than half of working adults are either open to it or undecided. For a scenario that probably felt science-fiction not long ago, that is a striking result.

32% of UK consumers would be comfortable ringing in sick to an AI

Source: Moneypenny / Censuswide research, 2,000 UK consumers, June 2026

Younger workers are far more open to it

The age breakdown is where the data really comes alive.

Comfortable ringing in sick to an AI — by age group    

• 47% 25 to 34-year-olds
• 40% Gen Z (18 to 28)
• 38% 18 to 24-year-olds
• 20% 55 and over
• 17% Baby Boomers

Source: Moneypenny / Censuswide research, 2,000 UK consumers, June 2026.

This is not a minor variation. It is a 30-percentage-point gap between the youngest and oldest working adults and it has real implications for how businesses think about AI in their day-to-day operations.

What this tells us about AI readiness at work

The sick day scenario is a useful lens precisely because it is so mundane. This is not about AI making complex decisions or replacing meaningful human interaction. It is about logging an absence, a transactional, low-stakes task that most employees do not enjoy making the call for anyway.

For younger workers who have grown up with AI-powered tools as part of everyday life, talking to an AI to report an absence is no more strange than using an app to book a restaurant or a chatbot to track a delivery. It is just another way of getting something done quickly.

For older workers, the same interaction can feel impersonal, unfamiliar, or simply wrong. There is an expectation, reasonable and deeply held, that a human being should be involved in communications that affect their working life. Neither position is incorrect. They just reflect genuinely different relationships with technology.

The 19% in the middle matter too

It is easy to focus on the split between comfortable and uncomfortable, but the 19% who are neither are arguably the most important group for businesses to think about.

These are not people who have made up their minds. They are open to being convinced in either direction. A well-designed AI experience that feels natural, efficient and easy might bring them onside. A clunky, impersonal interaction that makes them feel like a ticket in a queue probably will not.

This is where the quality of implementation matters as much as the decision to use AI in the first place. The undecided group is an opportunity but only if the experience is good enough to earn their confidence.

What it means for how businesses handle absence

For HR teams and operations leaders, this data raises a practical question: what does your current absence reporting process feel like for the person on the other end?

Many businesses still rely on a direct call to a manager or a shared phone line, often first thing in the morning when neither party is at their best. It can be awkward, time-consuming and, for some employees, genuinely off-putting enough that they put off calling at all.

An AI system that handles absence reporting consistently, accurately and without judgement has a clear appeal for employees who simply want to log their absence and get back to resting. Younger workers in particular are likely to welcome the option.

But the data also shows that a meaningful proportion of your workforce, particularly those aged 45 and over, will want a human option available. Replacing the existing process entirely risks making those employees feel underserved.

An AI route for those who prefer it, with a clear path to a human for those who do not. Moneypenny's AI Absence Line does exactly that. Every call answered, every absence captured, with escalation to a human whenever it is needed.

The broader picture

The sick day question is a small but telling window into something bigger. UK consumers and employees are increasingly comfortable with AI handling the practical, transactional moments in their working lives. The appetite is there, and it is growing.

But comfort is not uniform, and the gap between generations is wide enough that blanket AI adoption without flexibility will create friction rather than remove it.

At Moneypenny, we work with businesses every day to get this balance right: using AI to handle volume, routine tasks and out-of-hours moments, while keeping experienced people available for the interactions that genuinely need a human touch. The businesses that get the most from AI are those that treat it as a complement to their people, not a replacement for them.

Key takeaways

• 32% of UK consumers would be comfortable ringing in sick to an AI system
• 47% of 25 to 34-year-olds are comfortable with it - compared to just 20% of those aged 55 and over
• 19% are undecided, making implementation quality a key factor in shaping attitudes
• The data points to AI as an additional channel, not a wholesale replacement for human contact
• Younger workers' comfort with AI communications is growing and will continue to shape expectations

Get the right balance of AI and human support

Moneypenny's AI Receptionist handles your routine calls. Our telephone answering team handles the rest.

Frequently asked questions

• How many people took part in the research?

Moneypenny commissioned Censuswide to survey 2,000 nationally representative UK consumers. The fieldwork was conducted between 8 and 10 June 2026. Censuswide is a member of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the British Polling Council (BPC)

• What percentage of UK workers would ring in sick to an AI?

32% said they would be comfortable doing so. A further 19% said they were neither comfortable nor uncomfortable. 28% said they would be uncomfortable

• Which age group is most comfortable ringing in sick to an AI?

25 to 34-year-olds, with 47% saying they would be comfortable. Gen Z (18 to 28) sit at 40% overall

• Which age group is least comfortable?

Those aged 55 and over, where only 20% said they would be comfortable. Baby Boomers specifically came in at 17%

• Should businesses replace their absence reporting process with AI?

The data suggests offering AI as an additional channel rather than a wholesale replacement. A significant proportion of workers — particularly older employees — still prefer human contact for workplace communications. Giving employees a choice is likely to produce better outcomes than removing the human option entirely

• How does Moneypenny support businesses with AI-handled communications?

Moneypenny's AI Receptionist and AI Absence Line handle routine, predictable calls and tasks efficiently, with a seamless handover to trained human PAs where needed. The aim is always to match the right resource to the right conversation

Research conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Moneypenny, June 2026. Sample: 2,000 nationally representative UK consumers.