Almost half of all American adults have now used an AI chatbot. That number was just 33% in 2024, meaning adoption jumped by roughly 16 percentage points in under two years.
The numbers behind the chatbot boom
The survey, conducted between February 17-23, 2026, polled 5,119 US adults. The headline figure: 49% have used an AI chatbot at some point. But the more telling number might be the 25% who report using them daily.
ChatGPT remains the dominant player, and it’s not particularly close. A full 44% of respondents reported using OpenAI’s flagship product. Google’s Gemini came in second at 24%, followed by Microsoft Copilot at 17% and Meta AI at 14%.
The demographic splits are also revealing. Adults under 50 use chatbots at a 63% rate. Among those 65 and older, that drops to just 23%. Asian adults reported the highest utilization of any demographic group at 70%.
