AI Adoption in America: Generational Divide and Emerging Trends

So far, only one-third of Americans have ever used AI for work

On Tuesday, The Associated Press released results from a new AP-NORC poll showing that 60 percent of US adults have used AI to search for information, while only 37 percent of all Americans have used AI for work tasks. Meanwhile, younger Americans are adopting AI tools at much higher rates across multiple categories, including brainstorming, work tasks, and companionship. The poll found AI companionship remains the least popular application overall, with just 16 percent of adults overall trying it -- but the number jumps to a notable 25 percent among the under-30 crowd. AI companionship can have drawbacks that weren't reflected in the poll, such as excessive agreeability (called sycophancy) and mental health risks, like encouraging delusional thinking. The poll of 1,437 adults conducted July 10-14 reveals telling generational divides in AI adoption. While 74 percent of adults under 30 use AI for information searches at least some of the time, only the aforementioned 60 percent of all adults have done so. For brainstorming applications, 62 percent of adults under 30 have used AI to come up with ideas, compared with just 20 percent of those 60 or older. The findings suggest that despite years of tech industry promotion touting AI as a productivity revolution, most Americans' work lives remain untouched by AI assistants. Roughly one-third of survey respondents use AI for writing emails, creating or editing images, or entertainment. Only 26 percent report using AI for shopping. Search remains AI's most common application, though the poll may undercount actual usage since Google automatically generates AI responses at the top of search results, and users may not always recognize when they're interacting with AI-powered features. Users navigate AI with caution and courtesy The poll captured how Americans are selectively embracing AI while maintaining skepticism about its limitations. To dig into the implications, The Associated Press interviewed several people for comments about the poll results. For example, the AP talked to Courtney Thayer, a 34-year-old audiologist in Des Moines who turns to ChatGPT when planning weekly meals. They also interviewed Sanaa Wilson, a 28-year-old Los Angeles-area data scientist who depends on AI tools for debugging code. Wilson's relationship with AI has evolved over time, according to the AP interview. She experimented with ChatGPT for drafting emails before two concerns made her quit: perceptions about high energy consumption behind each query and worries about her own writing skills atrophying. Wilson attributes some of the companionship usage of AI to the social isolation many in her generation experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, though she has no personal interest in AI companions. Even those uninterested in AI relationships sometimes hedge their bets. Thayer treats chatbots with careful courtesy, adding "please" and "thank you" to every request -- a behavior that echoes concerns like Roko's basilisk, a thought experiment about a future AI model that might reward or punish people based on their past actions toward AI development. "I mean, I am nice to it, just because I've watched movies, right?" she told The Associated Press. "So I'll say, 'Can you make me a meal plan, please?' And, 'Can you modify this, please?' And then I'll say, 'Thank you.'"

How US adults are using AI, according to AP-NORC polling

Most U.S. adults say they use artificial intelligence to search for information, but fewer are using it for work, drafting email or shopping. Younger adults are most likely to be leaning into AI, with many using it for brainstorming and work tasks. The new findings from an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll show that 60% of Americans overall -- and 74% of those under 30 -- use AI to find information at least some of the time. The poll highlights the ubiquity of AI in some areas -- as well as its limits in others. Only about 4 in 10 Americans say they have used AI for work tasks or coming up with ideas, a sign that the tech industry's promises of highly productive AI assistants still haven't touched most livelihoods after years of promotion and investment. At the same time, wider AI adoption by younger Americans shows that could change. There's a particularly large age divide on brainstorming: About 6 in 10 adults under age 30 have used AI for coming up with ideas, compared with only 2 in 10 of those age 60 or older. Young adults are also more likely to use AI to come up with ideas at least "daily." Young adults are most likely to use AI Bridging the generations are people like Courtney Thayer, 34, who's embracing AI in some parts of her life and avoiding it in others. Thayer said she is regularly using ChatGPT to come up with ideas about planning what to eat, while also having it calculate the nutritional value of the pumpkin-banana-oat bread she's been baking for years. "I asked it to make a meal prep for the week, then to add an Asian flair," said Thayer, of Des Moines, Iowa. "It wasn't the most flavorful thing I've ever had in my life, but it's a nice stepping off point. More importantly, I use it for the amount so that I'm not over-serving myself and ending up with wasted food." The audiologist has embraced AI at work, too, in part because AI technology is imbued in the hearing aids she recommends to patients but also because it makes it easier and faster to draft professional emails. She avoids it for important information, particularly medical advice, after witnessing chatbots "hallucinate" false information about topics she spent years studying. Roughly 4 in 10 Americans say they use AI for work tasks at least sometimes, while about one-third say they use it for helping to write emails, create or edit images, or for entertainment, according to the poll. About one-quarter say they use it to shop. Younger adults are more likely than older ones to say they have used artificial intelligence to help with various tasks, the poll shows. Searching for information is AI's most common use Of the eight options, searching for information is the most common way Americans have interacted with AI. And even that may be an undercount, since it's not always apparent how AI is surfacing what information people see online. For more than a year, the dominant search engine, Google, has automatically provided AI-generated responses that attempt to answer a person's search query, appearing at the top of results. Perhaps defying emerging media consumption trends, 28-year-old Sanaa Wilson usually skips right past those AI-generated summaries. "It has to be a basic question like, 'What day does Christmas land on in 2025?'" said the Los Angeles-area resident. "I'll be like, 'That makes sense. I trust it.' But when it gets to specific news, related to what's happening in California or what's happening to the education system and stuff like that, I will scroll down a little bit further." Wilson, a freelance data scientist, does use AI heavily at work to help with coding, which she said has saved her hundreds of dollars she would have had to pay for training. She also occasionally uses it to come up with work-related ideas, an attempt to bring back a little of the collaborative brainstorming experience she remembers from college life but doesn't have now. When it first came out, Wilson said she also used ChatGPT to help write emails, until she learned more about its environmental impact and the possibility it would erode her own writing and thinking skills over time. "It's just an email. I can work it out," she said. "However many minutes it takes, or seconds it takes, I can still type it myself." Most don't use AI for companionship -- but it's more common for young adults The least common of the eight AI uses was AI companionship, though even that showed an age divide. Just under 2 in 10 of all adults and about a quarter of those under 30 say they've used AI for companionship. Wilson has no interest in AI companions, though she isn't surprised that others do because of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on her generation's social experiences. "I totally understand and sympathize behind why people in my age group are leveraging it in that way," Wilson said. Thayer, the audiologist, also has no interest in AI companionship, though she tries to be polite with chatbots, just in case they're keeping track. "I mean, I am nice to it, just because I've watched movies, right?" Thayer said, laughing. "So I'll say, 'Can you make me a meal plan, please?' And, 'Can you modify this, please?' And then I'll say, 'Thank you.'" ___ The AP-NORC poll of 1,437 adults was conducted July 10-14, using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

How are Americas using AI? This poll reveals 3 findings

Most U.S. adults say they use artificial intelligence to search for information, but fewer are using it for work, drafting email or shopping. Younger adults are most likely to be leaning into AI, with many using it for brainstorming and work tasks. The new findings from an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll show that 60% of Americans overall -- and 74% of those under 30 -- use AI to find information at least some of the time. The poll highlights the ubiquity of AI in some areas -- as well as its limits in others. Only about 4 in 10 Americans say they have used AI for work tasks or coming up with ideas, a sign that the tech industry's promises of highly productive AI assistants still haven't touched most livelihoods after years of promotion and investment. At the same time, wider AI adoption by younger Americans shows that could change. There's a particularly large age divide on brainstorming: About 6 in 10 adults under age 30 have used AI for coming up with ideas, compared with only 2 in 10 of those age 60 or older. Young adults are also more likely to use AI to come up with ideas at least "daily." Bridging the generations are people like Courtney Thayer, 34, who's embracing AI in some parts of her life and avoiding it in others. Thayer said she is regularly using ChatGPT to come up with ideas about planning what to eat, while also having it calculate the nutritional value of the pumpkin-banana-oat bread she's been baking for years. "I asked it to make a meal prep for the week, then to add an Asian flair," said Thayer, of Des Moines, Iowa. "It wasn't the most flavorful thing I've ever had in my life, but it's a nice stepping off point. More importantly, I use it for the amount so that I'm not over-serving myself and ending up with wasted food." The audiologist has embraced AI at work, too, in part because AI technology is imbued in the hearing aids she recommends to patients but also because it makes it easier and faster to draft professional emails. She avoids it for important information, particularly medical advice, after witnessing chatbots "hallucinate" false information about topics she spent years studying. Roughly 4 in 10 Americans say they use AI for work tasks at least sometimes, while about one-third say they use it for helping to write emails, create or edit images, or for entertainment, according to the poll. About one-quarter say they use it to shop. Younger adults are more likely than older ones to say they have used artificial intelligence to help with various tasks, the poll shows. Of the eight options offered in the poll questions, searching for information is the most common way Americans have interacted with AI. And even that may be an undercount, since it's not always apparent how AI is surfacing what information people see online. For more than a year, the dominant search engine, Google, has automatically provided AI-generated responses that attempt to answer a person's search query, appearing at the top of results. Perhaps defying emerging media consumption trends, 28-year-old Sanaa Wilson usually skips right past those AI-generated summaries. "It has to be a basic question like, 'What day does Christmas land on in 2025?'" said the Los Angeles-area resident. "I'll be like, 'That makes sense. I trust it.' But when it gets to specific news, related to what's happening in California or what's happening to the education system and stuff like that, I will scroll down a little bit further." Wilson, a freelance data scientist, does use AI heavily at work to help with coding, which she said has saved her hundreds of dollars she would have had to pay for training. She also occasionally uses it to come up with work-related ideas, an attempt to bring back a little of the collaborative brainstorming experience she remembers from college life but doesn't have now. When it first came out, Wilson said she also used ChatGPT to help write emails, until she learned more about its environmental impact and the possibility it would erode her own writing and thinking skills over time. "It's just an email. I can work it out," she said. "However many minutes it takes, or seconds it takes, I can still type it myself." The least common of the eight AI uses was AI companionship, though even that showed an age divide. Just under 2 in 10 of all adults and about a quarter of those under 30 say they've used AI for companionship. Wilson has no interest in AI companions, though she isn't surprised that others do because of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on her generation's social experiences. "I totally understand and sympathize behind why people in my age group are leveraging it in that way," Wilson said. Thayer, the audiologist, also has no interest in AI companionship, though she tries to be polite with chatbots, just in case they're keeping track. "I mean, I am nice to it, just because I've watched movies, right?" Thayer said, laughing. "So I'll say, 'Can you make me a meal plan, please?' And, 'Can you modify this, please?' And then I'll say, 'Thank you.'"

How US adults are using AI, according to AP-NORC polling

Most U.S. adults say they use artificial intelligence to search for information, but fewer are using it for work, drafting email or shopping. Younger adults are most likely to be leaning into AI, with many using it for brainstorming and work tasks. The new findings from an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll show that 60% of Americans overall -- and 74% of those under 30 -- use AI to find information at least some of the time. The poll highlights the ubiquity of AI in some areas -- as well as its limits in others. Only about 4 in 10 Americans say they have used AI for work tasks or coming up with ideas, a sign that the tech industry's promises of highly productive AI assistants still haven't touched most livelihoods after years of promotion and investment. At the same time, wider AI adoption by younger Americans shows that could change. There's a particularly large age divide on brainstorming: About 6 in 10 adults under age 30 have used AI for coming up with ideas, compared with only 2 in 10 of those age 60 or older. Young adults are also more likely to use AI to come up with ideas at least "daily." Young adults are most likely to use AI Bridging the generations are people like Courtney Thayer, 34, who's embracing AI in some parts of her life and avoiding it in others. Thayer said she is regularly using ChatGPT to come up with ideas about planning what to eat, while also having it calculate the nutritional value of the pumpkin-banana-oat bread she's been baking for years. "I asked it to make a meal prep for the week, then to add an Asian flair," said Thayer, of Des Moines, Iowa. "It wasn't the most flavorful thing I've ever had in my life, but it's a nice stepping off point. More importantly, I use it for the amount so that I'm not over-serving myself and ending up with wasted food." The audiologist has embraced AI at work, too, in part because AI technology is imbued in the hearing aids she recommends to patients but also because it makes it easier and faster to draft professional emails. She avoids it for important information, particularly medical advice, after witnessing chatbots "hallucinate" false information about topics she spent years studying. Roughly 4 in 10 Americans say they use AI for work tasks at least sometimes, while about one-third say they use it for helping to write emails, create or edit images, or for entertainment, according to the poll. About one-quarter say they use it to shop. Younger adults are more likely than older ones to say they have used artificial intelligence to help with various tasks, the poll shows. Searching for information is AI's most common use Of the eight options offered in the poll questions, searching for information is the most common way Americans have interacted with AI. And even that may be an undercount, since it's not always apparent how AI is surfacing what information people see online. For more than a year, the dominant search engine, Google, has automatically provided AI-generated responses that attempt to answer a person's search query, appearing at the top of results. Perhaps defying emerging media consumption trends, 28-year-old Sanaa Wilson usually skips right past those AI-generated summaries. "It has to be a basic question like, 'What day does Christmas land on in 2025?'" said the Los Angeles-area resident. "I'll be like, 'That makes sense. I trust it.' But when it gets to specific news, related to what's happening in California or what's happening to the education system and stuff like that, I will scroll down a little bit further." Wilson, a freelance data scientist, does use AI heavily at work to help with coding, which she said has saved her hundreds of dollars she would have had to pay for training. She also occasionally uses it to come up with work-related ideas, an attempt to bring back a little of the collaborative brainstorming experience she remembers from college life but doesn't have now. When it first came out, Wilson said she also used ChatGPT to help write emails, until she learned more about its environmental impact and the possibility it would erode her own writing and thinking skills over time. "It's just an email. I can work it out," she said. "However many minutes it takes, or seconds it takes, I can still type it myself." Most don't use AI for companionship -- but it's more common for young adults The least common of the eight AI uses was AI companionship, though even that showed an age divide. Just under 2 in 10 of all adults and about a quarter of those under 30 say they've used AI for companionship. Wilson has no interest in AI companions, though she isn't surprised that others do because of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on her generation's social experiences. "I totally understand and sympathize behind why people in my age group are leveraging it in that way," Wilson said. Thayer, the audiologist, also has no interest in AI companionship, though she tries to be polite with chatbots, just in case they're keeping track. "I mean, I am nice to it, just because I've watched movies, right?" Thayer said, laughing. "So I'll say, 'Can you make me a meal plan, please?' And, 'Can you modify this, please?' And then I'll say, 'Thank you.'" ___ The AP-NORC poll of 1,437 adults was conducted July 10-14, using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

How US Adults Are Using AI, According to AP-NORC Polling

Most U.S. adults say they use artificial intelligence to search for information, but fewer are using it for work, drafting email or shopping. Younger adults are most likely to be leaning into AI, with many using it for brainstorming and work tasks. The new findings from an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll show that 60% of Americans overall -- and 74% of those under 30 -- use AI to find information at least some of the time. The poll highlights the ubiquity of AI in some areas -- as well as its limits in others. Only about 4 in 10 Americans say they have used AI for work tasks or coming up with ideas, a sign that the tech industry's promises of highly productive AI assistants still haven't touched most livelihoods after years of promotion and investment. At the same time, wider AI adoption by younger Americans shows that could change. There's a particularly large age divide on brainstorming: About 6 in 10 adults under age 30 have used AI for coming up with ideas, compared with only 2 in 10 of those age 60 or older. Young adults are also more likely to use AI to come up with ideas at least "daily." Young adults are most likely to use AI Bridging the generations are people like Courtney Thayer, 34, who's embracing AI in some parts of her life and avoiding it in others. Thayer said she is regularly using ChatGPT to come up with ideas about planning what to eat, while also having it calculate the nutritional value of the pumpkin-banana-oat bread she's been baking for years. "I asked it to make a meal prep for the week, then to add an Asian flair," said Thayer, of Des Moines, Iowa. "It wasn't the most flavorful thing I've ever had in my life, but it's a nice stepping off point. More importantly, I use it for the amount so that I'm not over-serving myself and ending up with wasted food." The audiologist has embraced AI at work, too, in part because AI technology is imbued in the hearing aids she recommends to patients but also because it makes it easier and faster to draft professional emails. She avoids it for important information, particularly medical advice, after witnessing chatbots "hallucinate" false information about topics she spent years studying. Roughly 4 in 10 Americans say they use AI for work tasks at least sometimes, while about one-third say they use it for helping to write emails, create or edit images, or for entertainment, according to the poll. About one-quarter say they use it to shop. Younger adults are more likely than older ones to say they have used artificial intelligence to help with various tasks, the poll shows. Searching for information is AI's most common use Of the eight options, searching for information is the most common way Americans have interacted with AI. And even that may be an undercount, since it's not always apparent how AI is surfacing what information people see online. For more than a year, the dominant search engine, Google, has automatically provided AI-generated responses that attempt to answer a person's search query, appearing at the top of results. Perhaps defying emerging media consumption trends, 28-year-old Sanaa Wilson usually skips right past those AI-generated summaries. "It has to be a basic question like, 'What day does Christmas land on in 2025?'" said the Los Angeles-area resident. "I'll be like, 'That makes sense. I trust it.' But when it gets to specific news, related to what's happening in California or what's happening to the education system and stuff like that, I will scroll down a little bit further." Wilson, a freelance data scientist, does use AI heavily at work to help with coding, which she said has saved her hundreds of dollars she would have had to pay for training. She also occasionally uses it to come up with work-related ideas, an attempt to bring back a little of the collaborative brainstorming experience she remembers from college life but doesn't have now. When it first came out, Wilson said she also used ChatGPT to help write emails, until she learned more about its environmental impact and the possibility it would erode her own writing and thinking skills over time. "It's just an email. I can work it out," she said. "However many minutes it takes, or seconds it takes, I can still type it myself." Most don't use AI for companionship -- but it's more common for young adults The least common of the eight AI uses was AI companionship, though even that showed an age divide. Just under 2 in 10 of all adults and about a quarter of those under 30 say they've used AI for companionship. Wilson has no interest in AI companions, though she isn't surprised that others do because of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on her generation's social experiences. "I totally understand and sympathize behind why people in my age group are leveraging it in that way," Wilson said. Thayer, the audiologist, also has no interest in AI companionship, though she tries to be polite with chatbots, just in case they're keeping track. "I mean, I am nice to it, just because I've watched movies, right?" Thayer said, laughing. "So I'll say, 'Can you make me a meal plan, please?' And, 'Can you modify this, please?' And then I'll say, 'Thank you.'" ___ The AP-NORC poll of 1,437 adults was conducted July 10-14, using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

Here's How Most Adults Are Using AI in the U.S. Right Now

Most U.S. adults say they use artificial intelligence to search for information, but fewer are using it for work, drafting email or shopping. Younger adults are most likely to be leaning into AI, with many using it for brainstorming and work tasks. The new findings from an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll show that 60 percent of Americans overall -- and 74 percent of those under 30 -- use AI to find information at least some of the time. The poll highlights the ubiquity of AI in some areas -- as well as its limits in others. Only about 4 in 10 Americans say they have used AI for work tasks or coming up with ideas, a sign that the tech industry's promises of highly productive AI assistants still haven't touched most livelihoods after years of promotion and investment. At the same time, wider AI adoption by younger Americans shows that could change. There's a particularly large age divide on brainstorming: About 6 in 10 adults under age 30 have used AI for coming up with ideas, compared with only 2 in 10 of those age 60 or older. Young adults are also more likely to use AI to come up with ideas at least "daily." Bridging the generations are people like Courtney Thayer, 34, who's embracing AI in some parts of her life and avoiding it in others. Thayer said she is regularly using ChatGPT to come up with ideas about planning what to eat, while also having it calculate the nutritional value of the pumpkin-banana-oat bread she's been baking for years. "I asked it to make a meal prep for the week, then to add an Asian flair," said Thayer, of Des Moines, Iowa. "It wasn't the most flavorful thing I've ever had in my life, but it's a nice stepping off point. More importantly, I use it for the amount so that I'm not over-serving myself and ending up with wasted food." The audiologist has embraced AI at work, too, in part because AI technology is imbued in the hearing aids she recommends to patients but also because it makes it easier and faster to draft professional emails. She avoids it for important information, particularly medical advice, after witnessing chatbots "hallucinate" false information about topics she spent years studying. Roughly 4 in 10 Americans say they use AI for work tasks at least sometimes, while about one-third say they use it for helping to write emails, create or edit images, or for entertainment, according to the poll. About one-quarter say they use it to shop. Younger adults are more likely than older ones to say they have used artificial intelligence to help with various tasks, the poll shows. Of the eight options offered in the poll questions, searching for information is the most common way Americans have interacted with AI. And even that may be an undercount, since it's not always apparent how AI is surfacing what information people see online. For more than a year, the dominant search engine, Google, has automatically provided AI-generated responses that attempt to answer a person's search query, appearing at the top of results. Perhaps defying emerging media consumption trends, 28-year-old Sanaa Wilson usually skips right past those AI-generated summaries. "It has to be a basic question like, 'What day does Christmas land on in 2025?'" said the Los Angeles-area resident. "I'll be like, 'That makes sense. I trust it.' But when it gets to specific news, related to what's happening in California or what's happening to the education system and stuff like that, I will scroll down a little bit further." Wilson, a freelance data scientist, does use AI heavily at work to help with coding, which she said has saved her hundreds of dollars she would have had to pay for training. She also occasionally uses it to come up with work-related ideas, an attempt to bring back a little of the collaborative brainstorming experience she remembers from college life but doesn't have now. When it first came out, Wilson said she also used ChatGPT to help write emails, until she learned more about its environmental impact and the possibility it would erode her own writing and thinking skills over time. "It's just an email. I can work it out," she said. "However many minutes it takes, or seconds it takes, I can still type it myself." The least common of the eight AI uses was AI companionship, though even that showed an age divide. Just under 2 in 10 of all adults and about a quarter of those under 30 say they've used AI for companionship. Wilson has no interest in AI companions, though she isn't surprised that others do because of the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on her generation's social experiences. "I totally understand and sympathize behind why people in my age group are leveraging it in that way," Wilson said. Thayer, the audiologist, also has no interest in AI companionship, though she tries to be polite with chatbots, just in case they're keeping track. "I mean, I am nice to it, just because I've watched movies, right?" Thayer said, laughing. "So I'll say, 'Can you make me a meal plan, please?' And, 'Can you modify this, please?' And then I'll say, 'Thank you.'" The AP-NORC poll of 1,437 adults was conducted July 10-14, using a sample drawn from NORC's probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points. Copyright 2025. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The final deadline for the 2025 Inc. Power Partner Awards is Friday, August 8, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply now.