If you're feeling a little overwhelmed or abandoned by ChatGPT and other AI tools, fear not: a major new international study has found that most of us don't use generative AI tools on a regular basis.
The study from the Reuters Institute and the University of Oxford (via BBC), which surveyed more than 12,000 people in six countries, apparently reveals how little enthusiasm for AI has filtered down to its real-world use, for now. .
Even among people who have used generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini or Microsoft Copilot, a large proportion said they had only used them “once or twice.” Only a small minority (7% in the US, 2% in the UK) said they use the most popular AI tool, ChatGPT, on a daily basis.
A significant proportion of respondents across all countries (including 47% in the US and 42% in the UK) had never even heard of ChatGPT, a figure that was much higher for other AI applications. But after ChatGPT, the most recognized tools were Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Snapchat My AI, Meta AI, Bing AI and YouChat.
Further behind in terms of recognition were AI image generative tools like Midjourney, plus Claude and Grok for X from xAI (formerly Twitter). But while regular use of generative AI tools is low, the survey provides some interesting insights into what early hobbyists are using them for.
Broadly speaking, the use cases fell into two categories; “create media” and, more worryingly given the topic of AI hallucinations, “obtain information.” In the first, the most popular response was simply “play or experiment” (11%), followed by “write an email or letter” (9%) and “make a picture” (9%).
The top two responses in the “get information” category were “answer factual questions” (11%) and “ask for advice” (10%), both of which were hopefully followed by some corroboration from other sources. Most AI chatbots still come with prominent warnings about their propensity to make mistakes; For example, Google says Gemini “could provide inaccurate information or even make offensive statements.”
AI tools are arguably better at generating ideas and summarizing, and these were the next most popular use cases in the survey: “generating ideas” was mentioned by 9% of respondents and “summarizing text” cited by 8% of people.
But while the average person is still apparently dabbling in generative AI tools, most people in the survey are convinced that the tools will ultimately have a big impact on our daily lives. When asked if they thought “generative AI will have a big impact on everyday people in the next five years,” 60% of 18- to 24-year-olds thought yes, and that figure only fell to 41% among those who were 55 years and older.
All surveys have their limitations, and this one focuses primarily on stand-alone generative AI tools rather than examples of the technology built into existing products, meaning AI is likely to be used more widely than the study suggests.
Still, its large sample size and geographic breadth give us an interesting snapshot of how the average person views and uses ChatGPT. The answer is that it remains a niche among consumers, and the report's lead author, Dr Richard Fletcher, suggested to the BBC that this shows there is a “mismatch” between the “hype” around AI and the “public interest” in it.
Why might that be the case? The reality is that most AI tools, including ChatGPT, have yet to convince us that they are simple or reliable enough to become a default part of our technological lives. That's why the focus of OpenAI's new GPT-4o model (branding is another matter) was a new realistic voice assistant, which was designed to help us use it more regularly.
Still, while even tech enthusiasts still have reservations about AI tools, this appears to be largely irrelevant to the tech giants. We now see generative AI being incorporated into consumer products daily, from Google Search's new AI roundups to Microsoft's Copilot coming to our messaging apps and iOS 18's rumored AI features for iPhones.
So while respondents to this survey were “generally optimistic about the use of generative AI in science and healthcare, but more cautious about its use in news and journalism, and concerned about the effect it could have on job security,” according to Dr. Fletcher, It looks like AI technology will become a daily part of our lives anyway, although not completely yet.
