Half of US Adults Now Use AI Chatbots

The Headline Number

Nearly half of U.S. adults now use AI chatbots, according to a Pew Research Center report released June 17, 2026. The study, titled “Americans and AI 2026,” found that 49 percent of adults reported using chatbots such as ChatGPT, Gemini, or Copilot, up from 33 percent in 2024 and 23 percent in 2023.

Pew described a technology moving quickly into the mainstream. The 16-percentage-point rise over two years marks one of the faster consumer-technology adoption curves the center has tracked, and it places chatbot use on par with patterns seen in the early spread of social media.

Who Is Using Chatbots, and How Often

The report found that use is not only widening but deepening. About a quarter of adults said they use chatbots daily, including 12 percent who reported using them several times a day and 4 percent who described their use as almost constant. Another quarter reported using them several times a week or less.

ChatGPT remained the most widely used tool, with 44 percent of adults reporting they had used it, more than double the 18 percent who said so in 2023. Pew placed Gemini next at 24 percent, followed by Copilot at 17 percent and Meta AI at 14 percent, with Grok, Claude, and Character.ai each below 10 percent. The spread suggests adoption is no longer concentrated in a single product but spread across several services people encounter through search, workplace software, and the apps already on their phones.

Age shaped the pattern sharply. Pew reported that most adults under 30 use chatbots, while a majority of those 50 and older do not. Younger adults were the heaviest users by a wide margin, a divide consistent with earlier surveys.

How the Survey Was Conducted

The findings rest on a large, probability-based sample. Pew surveyed 5,119 U.S. adults from February 17 to 23, 2026, drawing from its American Trends Panel, a nationally representative group recruited through random sampling. The center reported a margin of error of about 1.6 percentage points.

The timing carries a caveat Pew noted directly: because the fieldwork occurred in February, the figures describe early-2026 attitudes rather than the June release date. The survey defined an AI chatbot as a program that simulates conversation through text or voice, and it was conducted in English and Spanish.

Use Without Full Trust

The more striking story sits beneath the adoption number. Pew found that rising use has not been matched by rising trust. About two-thirds of adults said they think AI is advancing too quickly, and a plurality expect the technology to have a more negative than positive effect on society over the coming decades.

How people use the tools adds nuance to that wariness. Pew reported that adults most commonly turn to chatbots to search for information and to help with work tasks, with smaller shares using them for entertainment, image creation, or medical and fitness information. A small group reported using chatbots for emotional support, a use experts have urged caution around.

Younger adults illustrate the tension. They use chatbots more than any other group yet are among the most skeptical about the technology’s long-term impact, with roughly half of those under 30 expecting a negative effect on society. The report also found that 71 percent of Americans expect AI to make their personal information less secure.

What the Data Shows

The central finding is a measurable shift: chatbot use among U.S. adults has roughly doubled in three years, reaching 49 percent in early 2026, with about a quarter of adults using the tools daily. ChatGPT leads the field, and use is concentrated among younger adults.

Pew framed the result as a mainstream-adoption milestone paired with persistent caution. Americans are reaching for these tools in growing numbers while remaining wary of their pace and their effects, a pairing the survey captured as clearly as the adoption figures themselves.

References: Americans and Ai 2026 Chatbots Smart Devices and Views on Impact - Pew Research Center