Pew Research Shares New Data on AI Usage Trends and Adoption

If you'd like to review the full research report, here is the direct link: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2026/06/17/americans-and-ai-2026-chatbots-smart-devices-and-views-on-impact/

First up, half of US adults ever use AI systems like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.

And I guess we're still using the word chatbot?

71% of Americans think AI will make their personal information less secure.

Very interesting coming off the (temporary) Fable 5 ban.

Note that this doesn't ask them their sentiment around it, just that they believe it will be less secure.

I'd love to see this layered over the AI speed question.

ChatGPT is the most popular chatbot, by a high margin (44% versus Gemini at 24%).

I remain surprised at the high use of Meta AI (14%), but not surprised at the ratio of ChatGPT to Claude (7.33:1).

A good reminder at how few people must be using Codex or Claude Code or Antigravity. Lag time is real. Opportunity lasts longer than you think.

18% of US adults overall are "extremely/very confident" in their ability to use AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude.

That is 37% of all AI users.

There is a massive gap between superusers and standard users - I suspect at least 50% of that 'very confident' group are nowhere near their full AI potential.

Daily use is actually a pretty high percent of total AI users!

24% are using ChatGPT/Claude/Gemini/Copilot daily.

(I suspect people are overreporting their daily usage. 24% just sounds very high considering vacation, weekends, etc. I would have thought max 20% - the number will probably go up as people set up more proactive/scheduled/async workflows)

Two biggest AI use cases are info search (42%) and work tasks (38%).

"For emotional support and advice" is at 10%. "For companionship" is only at 4%.

I think we forget how a curious, kind, personalized tutor actually provides empathy, support, and validation aka I deeply believe people are underestimating the amount of emotional support they get from AI.

63% of US adults believe that AI is advancing too quickly.

19% say the pace is right.

2% say it's too slow.

I suspect even the majority of people who answered 'too quickly' are not aware of everything AI can do today, and if they were, we might see more of that 16 'not sure' or 19 'at about the right pace' change their vote.

Does AI increase happiness? Not really.

I appreciate how high reported creativity boosts are (21%), compared to productivity (30%) and information (28%).

But I see those happiness scores (a very large portion said they are neutral, 36%) and I echo the sentiment. Creativity and productivity are not enough for happiness - I want whimsy, randomness, connection, and multi-player mode.

Meta AI is the only AI chatbot with a higher percent of women who use AI than men (15% vs 13%).

Gemini and Copilot have the largest differential in market usage (9).

ChatGPT just still so far ahead of any other player.

Age 18-29 are more likely to believe AI will have negative consequences (48% versus 39%/38%/35%).

It's almost like the booing at college graduations is trying to tell us something...

Again, in all groups, people believe that they as an individual will experience less negative impact than the general public (ex: 48% versus 37% for adults age 18-29).

Democrats are the more regulation skeptical ones now.

In 2026, 74% of Democrat US adults say they have little to no confidence in the US goverment regulating AI effectively. Republicans are more confident in government regulation, at 61%.

In 2024, those positions were flipped: Democrats were more hopeful at 54% and Republicans were more skeptical (70%).

All of the 2026 data is before Claude Mythos was even announced.

People believe any negative impacts of AI will impact them less than the greater public (31% versus 40%).

This is a clear, repeated pattern throughout the study.

How do men and women use AI?

More than any single bar on this graph, I find the more important takeaway to be that men seem to be more likely to cite multiple uses of AI (as in, the blue bars add up to a higher number than the green bars).

Also, men had previously been reported as less likely to use AI for health, and it seems they have closed the gap on that in this study.

This is a big one - women have been closing the gap on AI usage.

Now, 47% of women say they use chatbots, compared to 50% of men.

Two years ago, it was 28% versus 39%.

What about usage by generation?

Every age group across the board has increased AI usage in the last 2 years. Biggest percent increase is in the 65+ age group. Biggest raw % gain is the 30-49yo range.

For more on AI, adoption, market patterns, and business, follow me at @alliekmiller.

And if you're a beginner looking to jump in and learn how to really get the most out of AI, grab my free 5-day AI Fast Track email course here: https://www.alliekmiller.com/the-ai-fast-track

Also, can we ban the word chatbot?