In the gen AI economy, consumers want innovation they can trust

Roughly half of surveyed gen AI users (51%) say they use it every day, and 38% say they use it at least once a week, which suggests that gen AI is becoming part of their routine digital activities.

Most gen AI users report engaging with the technology through standalone gen AI applications on their phones (65%) or via tool-specific websites (60%) (figure 2). Sixty-nine percent of users also report tapping into gen AI capabilities built into other familiar software and services they use, such as search engines, social platforms, and office productivity apps. 

About four in ten surveyed gen AI users say they or their households pay for gen AI tools or services. Among users who don’t pay for gen AI, half say the main reason is that free tools are good enough, 20% say they don’t use the tools often enough to warrant paying, and 17% cite price. For tech providers, this raises a strategic question: Can they create enough differentiated, meaningful value to convert more free users into paying customers? 

Among those surveyed who are using gen AI for work, more than half (55%) say their organizations encourage its use, and 40% say their companies provide training. Employees report that these tools boost productivity “substantially” (46%) or “moderately” (35%). While 57% say they use company-provided gen AI tools, 69% also admit to using their own tools (installed on personal devices or accessed via personal accounts).

This “shadow AI” trend seems to reflect an element of unmet demand, with many employees recognizing the value and utility of gen AI and taking the initiative to use their own solutions. But it also opens a gap in governance, security, and integration that organizations would be wise to address. With many technology providers targeting enterprise adoption, organizations have a chance to offer sanctioned, secure, and well-supported gen AI tools that meet both employee needs and corporate compliance requirements. Employee demand for these tools is likely to rise: More than half (53%) of surveyed workers—and 59% of students—agree they can see gen AI serving as a valuable assistant in their future roles.

Consumers are using gen AI to enhance creativity and efficiency

Gen AI users are unlocking a broad spectrum of benefits, especially with improved productivity, web search, and decision-making (figure 5).  

One growing form of gen AI engagement is through conversational chatbots. Among regular gen AI users surveyed, the top five reported applications are work assistance, product recommendations, personal advice, travel planning, and physical health (figure 6). 

Surveyed gen AI users describe the chatbots they’ve used as knowledgeable, friendly, and reliable. Some also say they appreciate the convenience, cost, and discretion of chatbots versus human advisors. Gen AI chatbots appear to be winning fans: Seventy-two percent of those using them report that the assistance they’ve received is as good as that of humans. 

Many gen AI tools do include a disclaimer that results may contain errors. More than half (53%) of surveyed users say they mostly or always verify gen AI outputs independently—often by checking trusted sources or cross-referencing their own knowledge, and sometimes by using iterative prompts or reviewing the sources cited by the AI tool.

Increased use of gen AI may foster better discernment. Sixty-two percent of regular users surveyed are confident they can tell the difference between gen AI- and human-generated content, compared to 50% of experimenters. Skepticism persists, however: Nearly three-quarters (74%) of those familiar or experimenting with gen AI—and even 62% of regular users—say the increasing popularity of gen AI makes it harder for them to trust what they see online.

While about three-quarters of surveyed consumers feel that new features improve their lives and that digital experiences are becoming more personalized, fewer than 3 in 10 say they strongly agree, signaling room for tech providers to improve user satisfaction (figure 9). 

At the same time, surveyed consumers report concerns about how their tech providers innovate: Seventy-seven percent of respondents feel that tech companies are more focused on outpacing the competition than on solving real user problems, and 69% believe that innovation is happening too quickly, without enough attention to risk mitigation (figure 10). Indeed, when asked which innovations they want most in their tech devices, respondents ranked improved security and privacy first. Many also express frustration that new features often don’t meet their needs or change too quickly. 

Tech companies routinely collect personalized data to deliver tailored digital experiences, but this can introduce risks that demand careful attention. In just one year, the percentage of respondents worried about data privacy and security jumped from 60% to 70% (figure 11). Concerns about being tracked and worries about data security when using gen AI have followed a similar upward trend. And those concerns are not hypothetical. Nearly half (47%) of consumers report experiencing at least one type of digital security failure in the past year—such as a device hack, account breach, or stolen identity—and over a quarter (27%) report experiencing two or more. At the same time, 58% encountered at least one scam attempt in the past year, including phishing, fake profiles, chatbots impersonating real people, deepfake videos, ransomware or malware attacks, and voice cloning. 

Importantly, consumers are not just afraid of bad actors—they indicate increasing worry about the tech companies that provide their devices and services (figure 12). While most respondents with security concerns worry about hackers accessing their data, almost as many fear that tech providers may use their information in unauthorized ways or not protect it adequately. Similarly, while 7 in 10 of those with tracking concerns worry about being tracked by malicious parties, about 6 in 10 worry that tech platforms themselves could fail to protect their location or use it without consent. These reported concerns about tech companies grew year over year, pointing to a widening trust gap.

That gap seems to be reflected in respondent behavior. Only around 1 in 10 consumers say they are very willing to share sensitive information such as financial, communication, or biometric data (figure 13). And more than half of respondents say they are not at all willing to share those types of information—even in exchange for better digital experiences. Meanwhile, fewer than half (48%) believe that the benefits they get from online services outweigh their privacy concerns—a steep drop from 58% in 2024 and the lowest level since we began surveying this sentiment in 2019.

Most consumers appreciate innovation—but they also want data transparency, control, and security. Just 20% of surveyed respondents say tech providers are “very clear” about what data they collect or how it’s used, and only 20% say it’s “very easy” to control what’s collected about them. Confidence in data protection is low, with only 27% saying they have “high” or “very high” trust that tech providers are keeping their data secure. At the same time, 9 in 10 surveyed consumers believe tech companies should do more to protect data privacy and security, and that they should have the ability to view and delete the data companies collect.

Analysis of our four tech provider segments reveals a stark divide in outcomes between those perceived as both innovative and responsible—trusted trailblazers—and those seen as lagging on both dimensions—slow movers. Surveyed consumers who view their providers as trusted trailblazers are seven times more likely to express high trust that their providers will deliver innovative solutions while protecting their data. They’re also more than three times as likely to report high satisfaction with their tech products and services, and nearly four times as likely to say that digital technology has a “very positive” impact on their lives.

This trust and satisfaction can translate into meaningful financial outcomes. Respondents aligned with trusted trailblazers spend 62% more annually on tech devices and 26% more monthly on tech services than those aligned with slow movers. They’re also more likely to anticipate increasing their spending in the year ahead—more than twice as likely for both devices and subscriptions. These findings suggest that a dual focus on smart, personalized innovation and strong data stewardship is more than just good practice—it can be a powerful driver of consumer loyalty, engagement, and wallet share.

While fast innovators outperform slow movers across our metrics, their outcomes still lag those of trusted trailblazers. Despite their strengths in innovation, fast innovators earn far lower trust (just 20%) and less satisfaction and impact than trusted trailblazers. This gap underscores the importance of not just moving fast but moving responsibly. Meanwhile, data stewards—a relatively small group that lags on innovation but leads on data responsibility—outperform slow movers on all measures of trust, satisfaction, and spending, showing that strong data practices alone can drive better consumer outcomes, even in the absence of cutting-edge features. Even compared to fast innovators, data stewards earn more than twice the level of trust, underscoring the critical role that data responsibility plays in building consumer confidence.

Responsible innovation, therefore, appears to pay off. According to our analysis, consumers are rewarding tech providers who deliver not just novel, intelligent, and personalized experiences—but do so in ways that protect their data, respect their agency, and earn their confidence. In today’s landscape, trust isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s a growth strategy.