In short
A Gallup survey commissioned by Microsoft finds that most Americans who use AI daily still worry about it, with the U.S. ranking among the most anxious countries surveyed. The report shows adoption is rising faster than trust, while optimism remains stronger in places such as Singapore, China, and Israel.
- 68% of Americans who use AI daily say they worry about it.
- The U.S. is among the most anxious countries in Gallup’s 37-nation survey.
- Daily use does not necessarily increase trust in AI’s accuracy.
- Singapore, China, and Israel show much stronger optimism about AI.
- Gallup says AI attitudes are complex: people can be curious, hopeful, and worried at the same time.
Americans are embracing artificial intelligence for everyday tasks, yet most still do not trust it, according to a new Gallup survey commissioned by Microsoft. The study found that 68% of U.S. adults who use AI daily say they are worried about the technology, underscoring a sharp gap between adoption and confidence at a moment when AI is reshaping work, education, and public debate.
The findings matter because they challenge the idea that heavy usage automatically means broad enthusiasm. Instead, the survey suggests many people are using AI because it is convenient, useful, or unavoidable, even while remaining uneasy about its reliability, its effect on jobs, and its wider social consequences.
Gallup’s research, which spans 37 countries so far and will ultimately cover 140, also places the United States among the most anxious markets surveyed. In contrast, several countries with high AI usage levels reported far more optimism about the technology’s benefits.
What the Gallup survey says about AI worry in the United States
The clearest takeaway from the survey is that Americans are neither rejecting AI nor wholeheartedly embracing it. They are using it, but they are doing so with notable caution.
Among U.S. adults who use AI every day, 68% said they are worried about it. More broadly, 74% of Americans surveyed reported feeling worried about AI overall, and only 36% expected it to mostly help the country.
That combination puts the United States near the top of the anxiety rankings in the report and suggests that everyday exposure has not eased public fears. The data also show that concern rises among people who use AI less often, implying that familiarity alone does not create trust.
“One of the clearest findings is that attitudes toward AI are multidimensional,” Gallup senior scientist Pablo Diego-Rosell told TechCrunch. “People can be curious about AI, expect it to be beneficial and use it frequently while still being worried about it.”
That nuance is important for policymakers and companies alike. A person can use generative tools for summaries, homework help, recipes, or work drafts while still doubting whether the outputs are accurate or whether the technology’s growth will create broader harm.
Why does frequent AI use not erase concern?
Frequent use does not erase concern because many of the biggest AI worries are not about convenience, but about consequences. People are increasingly hearing that the technology could affect jobs, distort information, weaken privacy, or be deployed in ways that are hard to control.
The survey arrives amid a period of intense scrutiny around AI safety and governance. News about rapid product launches, model failures, and competitive pressure has been accompanied by warnings from executives, researchers, and labor advocates about what the technology might mean for employment and public trust.
In the United States, those worries appear to be reinforced by real-world developments:
- large technology companies have cut jobs while redirecting investment toward AI;
- entry-level hiring in some sectors has slowed;
- public discussions around “AI psychosis” and harmful chatbot interactions have grown;
- leading AI figures have warned that automation could eliminate large numbers of jobs.
The result is a public mood in which AI may be useful, but not necessarily welcome in every setting. People may appreciate what the tools do for them personally while questioning what the industry’s expansion means for society as a whole.
How do other countries view AI differently?
Other countries in the Gallup survey were generally more optimistic about AI’s benefits than the United States, even where daily usage is high. The most positive responses came from Singapore, China, and Israel, where many respondents said they expected AI to improve daily life and help their countries.
Singapore stood out as the highest-use market in the study, with 46% of respondents saying they use AI daily. Yet among those aware of the technology, more than 80% expected AI to improve their everyday lives, and 77% believed it would help Singapore overall.
China showed a similar pattern of high usage and strong optimism. Gallup said 35% of respondents there reported daily use, and most expected AI to help the country. Israel followed a comparable trend.
These differences matter because they show that public sentiment is not simply a function of access. National context, media coverage, labor market expectations, and government messaging all appear to shape how people interpret the technology.
Country-by-country snapshot
| Country | Daily AI use | General sentiment | Notable finding |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | High among daily users | Mostly worried | 74% say AI worries them; only 36% expect it to help the country |
| Canada | 29% daily use | Mixed, leaning concerned | 64% of those aware of AI said it worries them |
| Singapore | 46% daily use | Highly optimistic | Over 80% expect personal benefit; 77% expect national benefit |
| China | 35% daily use | Optimistic overall | Most respondents expect AI to help the country |
| Israel | High use and trust | Positive | Daily users are relatively trusting of AI results |
What the data reveal about trust in AI accuracy
Gallup’s findings also show that optimism about AI’s promise does not necessarily translate into confidence in its answers. Even in countries where people use AI regularly and expect it to be beneficial, many remain skeptical about whether the systems are correct.
Across the full survey, only a median 36% of respondents said they trust AI’s results “a lot.” Daily users were generally more confident than occasional users, but that confidence varied significantly by country.
In the United States, just 45% of daily users said they had that level of trust in AI’s outputs. That number is higher than the broader population’s trust, but it still leaves a large share of users unconvinced.
By contrast, daily users in Singapore, Israel, and China were more likely to say they trust AI-generated results. Even there, however, the report suggests that trust is not absolute. Users may be comfortable relying on the tools for certain tasks while still checking answers or treating outputs as a starting point rather than a final authority.
What emotions do people associate with AI?
The most common emotion associated with AI across the survey was curiosity. Gallup said that in 34 of the 37 countries surveyed, people most often described their feelings toward AI as curious, with smaller shares saying they felt happy or excited.
Worry was common but not dominant everywhere. Only about 32% of respondents overall said they felt worried about AI, which suggests that concern is serious but not universal.
Positive emotions were especially strong in a handful of countries:
- China: 90% reported positive feelings;
- Singapore: 89% reported positive feelings;
- Kenya: 87% reported positive feelings.
That spread of responses points to an important conclusion: AI is not producing a single global reaction. In some places it is seen as a useful economic tool; in others, it is understood as a source of risk that deserves more scrutiny.
How much weight should we put on the survey?
The survey offers a useful snapshot, but it is not a final verdict on global opinion. Gallup’s current release includes 37 countries, with about 1,000 people surveyed in each market between April and July. The full project is expected to expand to 140 countries.
That means the dataset is still incomplete. Notably absent from the reported results are India, Australia, and Malaysia, among others. India’s omission is especially significant given the size of its tech-savvy population and its role in the global digital economy.
Timing also matters. Sentiment captured between April and July may not fully reflect what people think now, especially as AI systems have advanced quickly and the policy discussion has become more intense. Since then, debates around model capability, job displacement, content rights, and national security have only sharpened.
As a result, the Gallup survey should be read as a timely but evolving indicator of public mood. It captures a period when AI adoption is rising, but public judgment is still in flux.
Why AI concern is becoming a policy issue
The fact that many people use AI while worrying about it has practical consequences. If users think the technology is useful but potentially dangerous, they are more likely to support regulation, restrictions, or guardrails in sensitive settings.
That matters for several sectors in particular:
- Hiring: people may resist automated screening tools if they fear bias or opaque decision-making;
- Healthcare: users may demand stronger oversight before AI is used in diagnosis or care coordination;
- Education: schools may face pressure to limit cheating or overreliance on machine-generated work;
- Government: public agencies may be pushed to justify when and how they deploy AI systems.
Beyond those sectors, the public is also increasingly aware of broader concerns. Training and running AI models can consume large amounts of energy and water, which raises climate questions. Generative systems can also complicate cybersecurity, content ownership, and the creative economy. Data privacy remains another major concern, particularly where personal information is used to train or personalize systems.
These issues help explain why awareness does not automatically translate into approval. The more AI becomes woven into daily life, the more people are likely to think about what it replaces, what it costs, and who controls it.
How governments and companies may respond
Governments and companies are likely to read the survey as a warning that adoption alone is not enough to build legitimacy. If people are using AI but remain anxious about it, then trust-building will matter as much as technical progress.
That could mean more transparency about how models work, clearer disclosures when AI is being used, stricter standards for high-risk applications, and more visible protections for workers and consumers. It could also mean more investment in education, so users understand where AI performs well and where it should be treated carefully.
For companies, the survey is a reminder that product growth may not equal public acceptance. A tool can be popular and still unpopular in principle. That tension is likely to shape future debates over regulation, competition, content licensing, and the responsibilities of major AI developers.
At a time when billions of dollars are flowing into the sector, that uncertainty is unlikely to slow AI’s spread. But it may determine how fast the technology can move into sensitive areas of life — and on what terms.
What the Gallup results ultimately mean
The broader message of the Gallup study is that AI has entered a phase of uneasy normalization. People are using it more, learning what it can do, and integrating it into ordinary tasks, but they are not necessarily becoming more comfortable with its role in society.
That divide is likely to persist. AI is already valuable enough to be adopted, but controversial enough to be watched carefully. The public seems willing to experiment with the technology, yet many users still want guarantees that it will not damage jobs, distort truth, or move ahead without oversight.
In that sense, the survey is less a sign of failure than a sign of maturity. The debate is no longer just about whether people will try AI. It is about what kind of AI they will accept, where they will permit it, and how much control they believe humans should retain.
As the technology spreads into more industries and more countries, that question will likely define the next stage of the AI era.
| Survey focus | Key result | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. daily users | 68% worried about AI | Shows adoption does not equal trust |
| U.S. national sentiment | 74% worried; 36% expect benefit | Places the U.S. among the most anxious markets |
| Global emotions | Curiosity leads; worry follows | Suggests AI is seen as promising but uncertain |
| Trust in results | Median 36% trust AI a lot | Highlights skepticism about accuracy |
| Survey scope | 37 countries, expanding to 140 | Indicates findings are important but still incomplete |
The latest Gallup data show a public that is experimenting with AI faster than it is learning to trust it. That split may become one of the defining features of the technology’s next chapter.
Frequently asked questions
Do most Americans who use AI every day worry about it?
Yes. A Gallup survey commissioned by Microsoft found that 68% of Americans who use AI daily say they are worried about the technology, showing that frequent use has not eliminated public unease.
Which countries are most optimistic about AI in the survey?
Singapore, China, and Israel are among the most optimistic countries in Gallup’s findings. In those markets, many respondents said they expect AI to improve daily life and help their countries, even if they still question accuracy.
Does using AI more often make people trust it more?
Partly, but not fully. Daily users tend to trust AI results more than occasional users, yet skepticism remains high. In the United States, only 45% of daily users said they trust AI’s results a lot.
How many countries were included in the Gallup survey?
The reported release includes 37 countries. Gallup says the wider project will eventually expand to 140 countries, so the current findings are an important but incomplete snapshot of global sentiment.
Why does AI worry matter for policymakers?
AI worry matters because people who use the technology but remain concerned may support tighter rules in hiring, healthcare, education, and government. That could shape how quickly and where AI is adopted in sensitive areas.
