Quinnipiac poll shows Americans' AI use rising but views souring sharply

A new Quinnipiac University poll finds that more Americans are using artificial intelligence tools than in April 2025, even as majorities say the technology will do more harm than good in daily life, education and the workforce. Fifty-one percent of adults say they have used AI for researching topics they are curious about, up from 37 percent last year. Twenty-seven percent report using it for school or work projects and the same share for analyzing data, both increases from the prior poll. Twenty-four percent have used AI to create images, up from 16 percent. Twenty-seven percent say they have never used AI tools, down from 33 percent. Trust in AI-generated information remains low. Seventy-six percent say they can trust it hardly ever or only some of the time, while 21 percent say most or almost all of the time. Eighty percent express concern about AI and 62 percent say they are not excited about it. Fifty-five percent think AI will do more harm than good in day-to-day life, up from 44 percent in April 2025. Sixty-four percent say the same about education, up from 54 percent. Seventy percent believe AI advancements are likely to reduce job opportunities, up from 56 percent last year. When asked about medical scans, 81 percent prefer a combination of AI and human review even if AI proved more accurate. The survey was conducted in collaboration with the Quinnipiac University School of Computing and Engineering and the Quinnipiac University School of Business.