Half of US adults don't use chatbots: do you?
Only five in a hundred non-users think it's very likely they'll use one next year, according to Pew Research Center.
In February 2026, Pew Research Center surveyed 5,119 U.S. adults. About half don't use chatbots. Most don't feel left out: they're not interested and don't plan to start.
Would you trust a bot with your thesis, your finances, or the email you send your boss? It's the question that comes up over dinner, in the study room, and at the office. The center details what's behind those who stay out, and none of those reasons is backwardness.
Age separates, but doesn't explain everything
Age separates. About three-quarters of adults 65 and older never use these tools. Among those 50 to 64, the majority also abstains, though in smaller proportion. Those under 50 are the least likely to set them aside: around four in ten or fewer say they don't use them.
«Trust isn't automated: it's built with people who answer for what they say.»
There are also differences by origin. Among non-users, there are more white, Black, and Hispanic people than Asian, according to the report. And not everyone stays out by choice: some decide not to use them and others don't know how to keep up.
One thing worth clarifying, because the data can be misunderstood. Chatbot use is growing in the United States. What the survey shows is that half the population hasn't gotten on the train yet, and most of that half isn't waiting for the next platform.
Interest, privacy, and wrong answers
Six in ten people who don't use chatbots mention lack of interest as an important factor. Behind that come data privacy and the possibility of wrong answers. Less than a third say they don't know how to use them, and fewer than one in five fear others will judge them for doing so.
The near future doesn't look different. About seven in ten say they're unlikely to use the technology in the next 12 months, and four in ten see it as not at all likely. Only five in a hundred think it's very likely they'll start, and 16 in a hundred see it as somewhat likely.
Michelle Faverio, associate researcher at the center, authored the analysis. Read together, those reasons look little like fear and a lot like judgment: no interest, no trust in where the data goes, or they've already seen a made-up answer. About one in ten isn't sure.
Judgment isn't delegated
If you already use AI to study, work, or reply to messages, this survey speaks to you. The tool speeds up tasks; it doesn't decide what's worth doing with them. Do you know what data you hand over every time you paste a document into a chat? Do you verify the figures before repeating them in an assignment or a proposal?
There's the difference between using a tool and depending on an oracle. A chatbot answers with the same confidence when it's right and when it makes things up, and that even confidence is what deceives the most.
Trust isn't automated: it's built with people who answer for what they say. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding" (Proverbs 3:5, ESV).
Try it this week with a specific task. Use it if it helps, check every fact in a source you can name, and decide beforehand what information you won't share. If someone tells you you're behind for not using chatbots, ask them what they do with what the bot tells them.
And if you're one of those who doesn't use them, tell us what's holding you back: privacy, wrong answers, lack of interest, or you just don't see the point? Your answer helps others think before they type.
