Young adults are more likely to turn to AI, and many use it for brainstorming and work tasks. New results 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 survey highlights the omnipresence of AI in some areas, as well as its limitations in others. Only about 4 in 10 Americans say they have used AI for work tasks or to come up with ideas, a sign that the tech industry’s promises of highly productive AI assistants still haven’t reached most livelihoods after years of promotion and investment.
At the same time, the broader adoption of AI by younger Americans shows that this could be changing.
There’s a particularly large age gap when it comes to brainstorming: About 6 in 10 adults under 30 have used AI to come up with ideas, compared to just 2 in 10 among those 60 or older. Young adults are also more likely to use AI for ideas at least “daily.”
YOUNG ADULTS ARE MOST LIKELY TO USE AI
People like Courtney Thayer, 34, who embrace AI in some areas of her life and eschew it in others, are bridging generations.
Thayer said she regularly uses ChatGPT to get ideas on planning what to eat, while also having her calculate the nutritional value of the pumpkin, banana and oatmeal bread she’s been making for years.
“I asked him to prepare a meal for the week and then add an Asian twist,” said Thayer, of Des Moines, Iowa. “It’s not the tastiest thing I’ve ever eaten in my life, but it’s a good place to start. Most importantly, I use enough of it so that I don’t overserve and end up with wasted food.”
The audiologist has also adopted AI at work, in part because AI technology is integrated into the hearing aids she recommends to patients, but also because it makes writing professional emails easier and faster.
She avoids it for important information, including medical advice, after seeing chatbots “hallucinate” false information on topics she has spent years studying.
According to the survey, about 4 in 10 Americans say they use AI for work tasks at least sometimes, while about a third say they use it to write emails, create or edit images, or for entertainment. About a quarter say they use it for shopping.
Younger adults are more likely than older adults to report using artificial intelligence to help them with various tasks, the survey found.
INFORMATION SEARCH IS THE MOST COMMON USE OF AI
Of the eight options provided in the survey questions, searching for information is the most common way Americans interact with AI. And even that may be understated, because it’s not always clear how AI surfaces the information people see online.
For over a year, the dominant search engine, Google, has automatically provided AI-generated answers that attempt to answer a person’s search query, appearing at the top of results.
Perhaps defying emerging media consumption trends, Sanaa Wilson, 28, typically skips AI-generated summaries.
“It has to be a fundamental question like, ‘What day is Christmas in 2025?'” the Los Angeles-area resident said. “I’ll say, ‘That makes sense. I’m confident in that.’ But when it comes to specific news, related to what’s happening in California or what’s happening to the education system and things like that, I’ll scroll a little further.
Wilson, a freelance data scientist, uses AI extensively at work to help with coding, which she says 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, aiming to bring back some of the collaborative brainstorming experience she remembers from her university life but no longer has today.
When she first came out, Wilson said she also used ChatGPT to help her write emails, until she learned more about its environmental impact and the possibility that it would erode her own writing and thinking skills over time.
“It’s just an email. I can make it happen,” she said. “No matter how many minutes or seconds it takes, I can always type it myself.”
WHO USES AI FOR THE COMPANY
The least common of the eight uses of AI was companionship of AI, although even that showed an age difference. Just under 2 in 10 adults and around a quarter of those under 30 say they have used AI for companionship.
Wilson isn’t interested in AI companions, though she’s not surprised others are because of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on her generation’s social experiences.
“I completely understand and sympathize with why people in my age group are taking advantage of it in this way,” Wilson said.
Thayer, the audiologist, isn’t interested in the AI’s company either, although she tries to be polite to the chatbots, just in case they keep track.
“I mean, I’m nice about it, just because I’ve watched movies, right?” » Thayer said with a laugh. “So I’ll say, ‘Can you make me a meal plan, please?’ And: “Can you change this, please?” » And then I will say: “Thank you”.
