A new YouGov survey explored how frequently Americans are interacting with AI tools and what impact AI will have in the future. Increasing shares of Americans are feeling skeptical about AI and expecting it to have a negative impact on society.
Most Americans (56%) use AI tools; 31% have never used them. 28% of Americans use AI tools at least weekly.
Adults under 30 are more likely than older Americans to ever use AI tools (76% vs. 51%). They are also more likely to use AI at least weekly (50% vs. 23%).
AI usage of weekly or more often is higher among people whose highest level of education is a college degree than among Americans without a college degree (37% vs. 24%).
54% of Americans say they feel cautious about advances in AI and 47% feel concerned, when choosing as many of 10 descriptions as apply to them. There has been an increase in the share of Americans who feel skeptical about AI since December: 44% feel skeptical now, compared with 36% according to a November 27 - December 3 poll. There also has been an increase in the share of Americans who feel overwhelmed by AI, to 17% from 11% in December.
Most Americans (58%) are very concerned about the possibility of AI resulting in the spread of misleading video and audio deep fakes — one of 15 possible sources of concern from AI asked about in the poll. Around half of Americans are very concerned about each of the following: the erosion of personal privacy (53%), the spread of political propaganda (52%), the replacement of human jobs (48%), and the manipulation of human behavior (48%).
Among Americans who feel concerned about AI advances generally, majorities say they are very concerned about 13 of the 15 possible sources of concern from AI asked about in the poll. 75% of the group who are generally concerned about AI are very concerned about the spread of misleading videos and audio deep fakes, 70% are very concerned about the spread of political propaganda, and 70% are very concerned about the erosion of personal privacy. Less than half of this group is very concerned about the exacerbation of mental health problems (43% are very concerned) and the reinforcement of societal biases (46%).
37% of Americans are concerned that AI could cause the end of the human race on Earth, including 14% who are very concerned about this. 27% are not very concerned and 22% are not at all concerned. These levels of concern are little changed from December 2024.
Compared to December, Americans are now more likely to say that the effects of AI will be negative, both on society and on their own lives. 40% of Americans think AI will have a negative effect on society, up from 34% in December. 28% think it will have a negative impact on their own life, up from 22% in December.
In December, Americans were about as likely to say the impact on society would be positive (35%) as to say it would be negative (34%). Now, fewer believe AI will have a positive impact on society than a negative one (30% vs. 40%).
Among people who use AI tools at least weekly, 56% think AI will have a positive impact on society; far fewer (17%) think it will have a negative impact. A majority (62%) of weekly AI users think it will have a positive impact on their own life while only 10% think it will have a negative impact on their own life. Among people who don't report weekly AI tool use, 19% expect a positive impact on society and 50% expect a negative one; 13% expect a positive impact on their own lives and 36% expect a negative one.
Many Americans don’t trust AI in its current form to make unbiased or ethical decisions or to provide accurate information. 65% say they have little trust in AI to make ethical decisions, including 36% who don’t trust it at all and 29% who don't have much trust. In December, fewer (58%) didn’t trust AI to make ethical decisions.
54% don’t trust AI to make unbiased decisions, including 27% who don’t trust it at all. 42% say they do not trust AI to provide accurate information; 48% trust it at least a fair amount for accurate information.
Majorities of people who use AI tools at least weekly trust AI at least a fair amount to make unbiased decisions (68%), to make ethical decisions (55%), and to provide accurate information (82%). These figures are much lower among people who don't use AI tools at least weekly (22%, 11%, and 35%)
41% of Americans think AI should be much more regulated — an increase from 34% in December 2024. 30% think it should be somewhat more regulated, 10% think there should be no change in regulation, and 5% think it should be somewhat or much less regulated.
13% of Americans believe AI is already more intelligent than people. 47% believe it is very (25%) or somewhat (22%) likely to become more intelligent than people. Fewer say it is not very likely (15%) or not likely at all (9%) that AI will become more intelligent than people.
Among people who use AI tools at least weekly, 56% believe AI is likely to become smarter than people. Only 43% of people who don't use AI tools at least weekly say AI is likely to become smarter than people. Similar shares of the groups say AI is already more intelligent (14% vs. 13%).
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See the results for this YouGov survey
Use Carl Bialik and Taylor Orth contributed to this article
Methodology: This article includes results from an online survey conducted March 5 - 7, 2025, 2025 among 1,132 U.S. adult citizens. Respondents were selected from YouGov’s opt-in panel to be representative of adult U.S. citizens. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline party identification, and current voter registration status. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline party identification is the respondent’s most recent answer given around November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at that time (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 4%.
Image: Getty (Jonathan Kitchen)
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