Younger Americans more likely to use AI for ideas and work tasks, poll finds

A new AP-NORC poll finds many Americans are using artificial intelligence primarily as a tool for finding information, while fewer say they apply it to work tasks or other day-to-day activities. The findings show that AI use is especially common among younger adults, particularly for brainstorming and idea generation.

The poll, which surveyed 1,437 adults, also highlights a gap between the kinds of tasks AI companies often market and how many people say they use the technology at work. Roughly 4 in 10 Americans report using AI for work tasks at least sometimes, while the share using it for other specific uses is lower or varies by age.

Searching for information is the most common reason people interact with AI, according to the survey results. The report also notes that this may undercount AI use because it is sometimes not obvious to users when AI-generated responses are appearing in search results, such as when a search engine automatically provides AI answers.

In the Los Angeles area, freelance data scientist Sanaa Wilson described avoiding some AI-generated search summaries when they are tied to specific news. Wilson said she often trusts AI for straightforward questions but scrolls further when she wants information related to topics happening in California or in the education system. She also said she uses AI heavily for coding at work and that it has saved her time and training costs.

Wilson said she used ChatGPT to draft emails early on, but later stopped after learning more about its environmental impact and concerns that it could erode her own writing and thinking skills over time. She told the poll that she views email drafting as something she can handle herself, even if it takes time.

The poll also describes how AI companionship remains one of the least common uses overall, while showing an age divide. Just under 2 in 10 adults overall and about a quarter of those under 30 say they have used AI for companionship.

For some younger adults, the appeal can be shaped by the social disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, the report said, and Wilson said she understands why others may turn to AI companions. Another poll participant, Courtney Thayer, an audiologist in Des Moines, Iowa, said she has no interest in AI companionship, though she tries to be polite to chatbots.

In Thayer’s account, she uses AI for idea planning in parts of her life while avoiding it for more serious information, including medical advice. She said she regularly uses ChatGPT for meal-prep planning and for calculating nutrition, including by asking it for meal plans and for ideas with added flavor. Thayer said that in her experience the output can serve as a “stepping off point,” and that she uses it to help control portions and reduce food waste.

At work, Thayer said she has embraced AI in part because AI technology is already integrated into hearing aids she recommends to patients, and because it can make drafting professional emails faster. She said she avoids using AI for important information after witnessing chatbots “hallucinate” false information about topics she has spent years studying.

Across the poll’s categories, the report shows younger Americans are more likely than older ones to say they have used AI to help with a range of tasks. It found a particularly large age gap for coming up with ideas, with about 6 in 10 adults under 30 saying they have used AI for brainstorming compared with only 2 in 10 adults age 60 or older.

The AP-NORC poll was conducted July 10-14, using a probability-based sample drawn from NORC’s AmeriSpeak Panel, designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The report said the margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.