Half of Americans now use AI chatbots, but 40% think AI will make society worse and two-thirds don’t trust the government to regulate it

https://media.thenextweb.com/2026/06/pew-research-americans-ai-chatbot-skepticism-regulation-distrust-2026.avif

TL;DR

A Pew survey of 5,119 US adults finds 49% use AI chatbots but 40% say AI will hurt society, 67% distrust government regulation, and 59% distrust companies.

Half of American adults now use AI chatbots, but a plurality believe the technology will ultimately damage society, and overwhelming majorities have lost confidence that either the government or the companies building it will manage it responsibly. A new Pew Research Center report released Wednesday, based on a survey of 5,119 US adults conducted in February, found that 49% of respondents use AI chatbots, up from roughly a third in 2024. At the same time, 40% said AI will be worse for society, roughly two-thirds said it is advancing too quickly, and 71% agreed the technology will make their personal data less secure.

ChatGPT remains the dominant chatbot among US adults, with 44% of respondents reporting they have used the OpenAI...

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