Adoption

GenAI adoption is accelerating rapidly across demographics and regions, reshaping online shopping, work habits, and digital behavior — with nearly 40% of the US population already using it and adoption outpacing early PC and internet growth.

Half of online shoppers now use Gen AI: The hype, the habits, and the hesitations
Omnisend ↗

Around 50% of online shoppers in each country (USA/UK/Australia) use Gen AI for ecommerce tasks at least once a month. ChatGPT dominates and is preferred by 46% of respondents. 1 in 4 say ChatGPT gives better product suggestions than Google.

"Googling often means ads, SEO content, and dozens of open tabs before you find what you need. Gen AI tends to act like a knowledgeable friend — it distills, summarizes, and points you in the right direction without the noise."

Google + Ipsos | Our Life with AI (2025)
Google / Ipsos ↗

Top use cases are:

Product research — 57% (U.S.), 33% (CA), 34% (UK), 34% (AU)
Product recommendations — 45% (U.S.), 26% (CA), 28% (UK), 27% (AU)
Finding deals — 40% (U.S.), 20% (CA), 19% (UK), 18% (AU)

The Rapid Adoption of Generative AI
NBER ↗

Overall Adoption: Nearly 40% of US population (18-64) uses GenAI
Work Usage: 28% of employed respondents used GenAI at least weekly; 9% use daily
Speed Comparison: GenAI adoption faster than PC or internet adoption
Time Savings: Users report productivity gains equivalent to 1.4% of work hours

Occupation Adoption: 50% in computer/math/management roles; 20% blue-collar workers
Education/Wage Gap: Faster adoption among younger, more educated, higher-wage workers
General-Purpose Tech: Broad applicability across occupations mirrors PC adoption patterns

Online Nation 2024 (UK)
Ofcom ↗

Online Nation 2025 (UK)
Ofcom ↗

Generative AI Outlook (2025)
European Commission JRC ↗

GenAI is reshaping how individuals interact with technology, introducing new risks concerning mental health. Some GenAI characteristics such as the chatbot's perceived sentience, its anthropomorphism or humanlikeness, or its surprising ability to tell users what they want to hear (i.e. "sycophancy") may contribute to problematic or addiction-like use of GenAI systems.

GenAI has the potential to redefine teaching and learning. This technology can help deliver more personalised learning experiences, adjusting the difficulty and nature of tasks based on a student's performance and interests.

There is a risk of over-reliance on AI for task completion and productivity gains rather than deeper conceptual exploration and learning. This could undermine critical thinking, problem solving, and the role of educators.