Research
Generative AI Usage Statistics 2026
Generative AI usage statistics measure how many people and organizations use tools that produce text, images, code or audio from prompts, how often they use them and for what. They come from household and workforce surveys, official business surveys and usage studies that vendors publish about their own products.
This page gathers named, dated figures on who uses generative AI chatbots and assistants. Consumer numbers come from Pew Research Center, the Reuters Institute and the Stanford AI Index. Worker numbers come from Gallup, Pew and Microsoft's Work Trend Index. Business numbers come from the U.S. Census Bureau. Vendor usage studies are labeled as such. European enterprise data sits on a separate page, and forecasts are not included.
How many people use generative AI chatbots?
- #149%
In February 2026, 49% of U.S. adults said they ever use AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot, up from 33% in Pew's 2024 survey.
Pew Research Center, Americans and AI 2026: Chatbots, Smart Devices and Views on Impact (2026). Survey of 5,119 U.S. adults, February 17 to 23, 2026. The 2024 question was asked only of people who had heard of chatbots.
- #244%
Pew found 44% of U.S. adults said they ever use ChatGPT in 2026, compared with 18% in 2023, 23% in 2024 and 34% in 2025.
Pew Research Center, Americans and AI 2026: Chatbots, Smart Devices and Views on Impact (2026). Question wording changed in 2026 to cover several chatbots, so earlier years are not strictly comparable.
- #324% Gemini, 6% Claude
Among U.S. adults in 2026, Gemini was used by 24%, Microsoft Copilot by 17%, Meta AI by 14%, Grok by 8% and Claude by 6%.
Pew Research Center, Americans and AI 2026: Chatbots, Smart Devices and Views on Impact (2026). Share who say they ever use each chatbot. Pew notes that not all differences shown are statistically significant.
- #461% vs 19%
ChatGPT use in 2026 ranged from 61% of U.S. adults aged 18 to 29 to 19% of those aged 65 and older, a 42-point age gap.
Pew Research Center, Americans and AI 2026: Chatbots, Smart Devices and Views on Impact (2026). Gap computed from the published age-group values.
- #583% not interested
Of U.S. adults who do not use chatbots, 83% said they are not interested, 79% worried about personal information and 76% did not trust the accuracy.
Pew Research Center, Why don't people use chatbots? (2026). Share naming each as a major or minor reason; asked of the 51% of adults who never use chatbots.
- #653%
Generative AI reached 53% population adoption within three years of mass-market launch, faster than the personal computer or the internet, according to the 2026 AI Index.
Stanford HAI, The 2026 AI Index Report (2026). Cross-country estimate. The report places the United States at 28.3%, ranked 24th.
- #710%
Weekly use of AI chatbots to get news rose globally from 7% in 2025 to 10% in 2026, and reached 16% among people under 35.
Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, Digital News Report 2026 (2026). Online survey of nearly 100,000 people in 48 markets, January and February 2026. Reported here via Press Gazette's coverage of the report.
- #839%
A Federal Reserve working paper found that 39% of the U.S. population aged 18 to 64 had used generative AI by August 2024.
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, The Rapid Adoption of Generative AI (working paper) (2024). Nationally representative survey fielded in August 2024; this is the original version of the paper, later revised.
- #9about 10%
OpenAI and Harvard researchers estimated that ChatGPT's consumer product had reached about 10% of the world's adult population by July 2025.
National Bureau of Economic Research, How People Use ChatGPT (NBER Working Paper 34255) (2025). OpenAI-affiliated authors analysed ChatGPT consumer plans; this is a vendor-data study.
How many workers use generative AI at work?
- #1052%
As of May 2026, 52% of U.S. employees used AI in their role at least a few times a year, according to Gallup's quarterly workforce indicator.
Gallup, Indicator: Artificial Intelligence (2026). Gallup Panel sample of U.S. adults working full or part time; the broadest usage measure.
- #1115% daily, 30% weekly or more
Gallup reported in May 2026 that 15% of U.S. employees use AI daily in their role and 30% use it a few times a week or more.
Gallup, Indicator: Artificial Intelligence (2026). Frequent use remains a minority even though occasional use passes half of employees.
- #1242% technology
Daily AI use at work was far higher in technology, at 42% of employees, than in finance (27%) or professional services (22%), Gallup found in May 2026.
Gallup, Indicator: Artificial Intelligence (2026). The other seven industries Gallup tracks range from 9% to 15% daily use.
- #1365%
Among employees at organizations that had implemented AI, 65% told Gallup that AI had a positive effect on their productivity and efficiency.
Gallup, Rising Adoption Spurs Workforce Changes (2026). Q1 2026 survey of 23,717 U.S. employees, fielded February 4 to 19, 2026; 16% called the effect extremely positive.
- #149% frequent, 55% rarely or never
In Pew's 2025 report on workers, 9% used AI chatbots at work every day or a few times a week, while 55% rarely or never did.
Pew Research Center, Workers' experience with AI chatbots in their jobs (2025). Pew's American Trends Panel; a further 7% used chatbots a few times a month and 29% had not heard of them.
- #1557% research
Among workers who had used AI chatbots on the job, 57% used them to research or find information and 52% to edit written content.
Pew Research Center, Workers' experience with AI chatbots in their jobs (2025). Asked only of workers who have used chatbots at work; 40% called them very or extremely helpful for speed.
- #1658%
In Microsoft's 2026 Work Trend Index, 58% of AI users said they produce work they could not have produced a year earlier.
Microsoft, 2026 Work Trend Index Annual Report (2026). Survey of 20,000 knowledge workers who use AI at work, 2,000 in each of 10 countries; self-reported, and the vendor sells AI products.
- #1786%
Microsoft's 2026 survey found 86% of AI users treat AI output as a starting point rather than a final answer.
Microsoft, 2026 Work Trend Index Annual Report: Agents, human agency, and the opportunity for every organization (2026). Vendor-run survey of AI users in 10 countries including Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK, fielded February to April 2026.
How widely have businesses adopted generative AI?
- #1888%
The 2026 AI Index reports that 88% of organizations had adopted AI by 2025, a figure that covers all AI use rather than generative AI alone.
Stanford HAI, The 2026 AI Index Report (2025). Organizational adoption in at least one function; the report separates this from how many employees use AI regularly.
- #1919.8%
The U.S. Census Bureau's business survey put the national AI use rate at 19.8% of firms as of May 3, 2026, measured over the preceding two weeks.
U.S. Census Bureau, Large Firms With at Least 20 Employees Biggest AI Users (2026). Business Trends and Outlook Survey; question covers AI use in any business function since a November 2025 wording change.
- #2037% large firms
Census Bureau data showed 37% of U.S. firms with 250 or more employees using AI in May 2026, against under 20% of firms with four or fewer employees.
U.S. Census Bureau, Large Firms With at Least 20 Employees Biggest AI Users (2026). Period ending May 3, 2026; firms with 100 to 249 employees reported 32%.
- #2115x
The number of active agents in Microsoft 365 grew 15 times year over year, and 18 times in large enterprises, Microsoft reported in May 2026.
Microsoft, 2026 Work Trend Index Annual Report (2026). Vendor-reported telemetry from Microsoft's own platform, so it measures Microsoft 365 customers only.
What do people use generative AI for?
- #22nearly 80%
Practical guidance, seeking information and writing together made up nearly 80% of ChatGPT consumer conversations, the NBER working paper found.
National Bureau of Economic Research, How People Use ChatGPT (NBER Working Paper 34255) (2025). Automated, privacy-preserving classification of a sample of consumer conversations through July 2025.
- #23from 53% to over 70%
The share of ChatGPT usage that was not work-related rose from 53% to more than 70% over the period the NBER paper studied.
National Bureau of Economic Research, How People Use ChatGPT (NBER Working Paper 34255) (2025). Authors are affiliated with OpenAI and Harvard; consumer plans only.
- #2452% augmentation, 45% automation
On Claude.ai in November 2025, 52% of conversations were augmentation, where a person iterates with the model, and 45% were automation.
Anthropic, Anthropic Economic Index report, January 2026 (2025). Vendor-published analysis of its own consumer product; augmentation was 56% in January 2025.
- #2534% Claude.ai, 46% API
Computer and mathematical tasks accounted for 34% of Claude.ai conversations in November 2025, down from a 40% peak in March 2025, and 46% of API traffic.
Anthropic, Anthropic Economic Index report, January 2026 (2025). Vendor-published analysis; the top ten tasks made up 24% of Claude.ai conversations.
- #2674% vs 46%
Anthropic's data showed 74% of API use was work-related in November 2025, compared with 46% of Claude.ai conversations.
Anthropic, Anthropic Economic Index report, January 2026 (2025). Vendor-published analysis of its own platforms; it should be read as one vendor's mix, not the market.
- #2749%
Microsoft found that 49% of sampled Microsoft 365 Copilot chats supported cognitive work such as analysis, decision-making and evaluation.
Microsoft, 2026 Work Trend Index Annual Report (2026). Telemetry from about 105,000 Copilot chats in one week of February 2026; vendor-reported.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of people use generative AI in 2026?
It depends on the country and the question. Pew found 49% of U.S. adults ever use AI chatbots in February 2026, and 44% use ChatGPT. Stanford's AI Index estimates 53% population adoption across countries within three years of launch. Frequency is lower: Gallup finds 15% of U.S. employees use AI daily.
How many workers use generative AI every day?
Gallup's May 2026 indicator found 15% of U.S. employees use AI daily and 30% a few times a week or more, while 52% use it at least a few times a year. Daily use is concentrated in technology, at 42% of employees, against 9% to 15% in seven other industries.
Is generative AI use growing among businesses?
Yes, though from a modest base outside large firms. The U.S. Census Bureau recorded 19.8% of firms using AI in May 2026, and 37% of firms with 250 or more employees. Stanford's AI Index reports that 88% of organizations had adopted some form of AI by 2025, which is a broader measure.
What do people mainly use ChatGPT and Claude for?
The NBER study of ChatGPT consumer chats found practical guidance, information seeking and writing made up nearly 80% of conversations, with most use not work-related. Anthropic's index shows computer and mathematical tasks at 34% of Claude.ai conversations and 46% of API traffic. Both are vendor data on their own products.