It may be the most wonderful time of the year, but for many Australians it’s also the busiest. New research* from Microsoft reveals Australians spend an average of 27 hours on holiday-related tasks, including travel planning, gift shopping and event planning, totaling 540 million hours nationally.
The Microsoft AI Holiday Hacks report also revealed that 77% of Australians find some aspects of the festive period stressful, with the main stressors being choosing the right gifts (36%), sticking to a budget (36%) and buying food, decorations or gifts (33%). .
The report reveals that holiday planning isn’t everyone’s cup of eggnog, with less than half (45%) of Australians trying to plan their holiday festivities well in advance to avoid the rush towards buying last minute gifts. Although 58% say they would rather do almost anything than go shopping on Christmas Eve, including taking an ice bath (20%), assembling IKEA furniture without instructions (20%) and listening to an uncle explain cryptocurrency over Christmas lunch (15%). %). Choosing gifts is one of the most difficult holiday tasks, with 72% of respondents struggling to find gifts for at least one person on their list.
As Christmas chaos approaches, the report reveals almost half (47%) of Australians are willing to use AI to streamline holiday tasks, including choosing gifts (19%), planning meals and cooking (16%), travel planning (16%). %) and find unique holiday recipes (16%).
Microsoft’s Copilot AI feature is designed to ease the holiday burden. From generating personalized gift ideas to creating efficient travel itineraries and even dinner optimization, Copilot can give back valuable hours during the busiest season.
Dan Johnson, Windows Category Manager for ANZ at Microsoft, said: