As workplaces become more digitized than ever, with hybrid or remote working taking off and the ‘digital nomad’ becoming more common, new data reveals the common office apps which cause workers the most confusion and sap the most productivity.
Digital adoption magazine digital-adoption.com used Google search data to analyze which digital work tools required the most support to understand and use.
The 10 most puzzling office apps, according to Google
Taking a list of 35 phrases associated with support and pairing each one with the names of 275 of the most popular office apps (almost 10,000 search terms), the below data reveals the top 10 office apps that internet users Google for help with.
| App | Average Monthly Support Searches (US) |
| QuickBooks | 68,320 |
| Microsoft Excel | 49,490 |
| Shopify | 44,720 |
| Salesforce | 39,420 |
| Square | 34,510 |
| Microsoft OneDrive | 26,140 |
| Microsoft Teams | 25,780 |
| Zoom | 24,300 |
| WordPress | 24,290 |
| DropBox | 21,730 |
With 68,320 estimated monthly searches, QuickBooks accounting software appears to be the most confusing office tool with approximately 67,710 related monthly searches. The most commonly searched term is ‘QuickBooks customer service’ and is Googled 19,000 times per month in the U.S., which makes up nine in ten of 21,000 global monthly searches. The second most searched team is ‘QuickBooks support’ which is searched 12,000 times each month in America. Over two-thirds (68 percent) of all global monthly support-related searches for QuickBooks are made by people in the U.S.
Microsoft Excel is the second most confusing office app with approximately 49,490 estimated monthly searches. The most common search is ‘how to use excel’, which is searched 9,600 times per month in the United States out of 29,000 monthly global searches, meaning the United States makes up a third of all monthly searches for this term. Americans searching for ‘Excel help’ makes up nearly half (47 percent) of all global monthly searches for this term, with 3,100 out of 6,500 global monthly searches happening in the U.S. With a total of 221,140 estimated global queries, Microsoft Excel receives the most queries for support out of any other office app, except for the U.S.
Ecommerce platform Shopify is third on the list of most confusing office apps for Americans with 44,720 estimated monthly searches. ‘What is Shopify’, ‘Shopify customer service’ and ‘Shopify support’ are the topmost commonly searched terms, with 15,000, 8,400 and 7,800 monthly searches from the U.S, respectively. ‘Shopify help’ is also a top search, which is Googled 4,700 times in America each month.
Salesforce CRM is the fourth most confusing office tool for Americans, with an estimated 39,420 support-related monthly searches. ‘What is Salesforce’ is Googled around 17,000 times per month in the United States, making up just over a third (36%) of 46,000 global monthly searches for this term.
Mobile payment company Square is the fifth most confusing for Americans. ‘Square customer service’ is Googled 19,000 times per month in America. ‘What is Square’ and ‘Square support’ are both popular search terms, receiving 7,000 and 3,000 searches per month, respectively. Between all support-related search terms, almost two-thirds (61%) are made from the United States in total.
A spokesperson from digital-adoption.com commented on the findings: “By measuring the volume of support-related queries, we can reveal which apps cause the most confusion for its users. According to this study, QuickBooks is the most confusing app for its users, with almost 70,000 support-related searches per month just in the United States alone.”
The spokesperson continues: “QuickBooks searches also have the largest volume and share of U.S. traffic out of any app in the top ten, which means that even though it is arguably the most well-established in the country, it receives the highest amount of queries from people that need help and support to understand it. These results show that as companies implement digital adoption strategies, it is vital that their employees are well supported to ensure that the approach is implemented effectively and brings clear benefits rather than confusion.”
