ai public opinion surveys

collection of surveys and studies tracking public attitudes toward artificial intelligence from research organizations, consulting firms, academic institutions, and government agencies worldwide.

survey coverage includes general population studies (pew research, ipsos, gallup), enterprise surveys (deloitte, mckinsey, accenture), trust studies (edelman), and sector-specific research (reuters institute, us treasury). temporal range spans 2022-2025 with emphasis on post-chatgpt era (late 2022 onward).

for chronological ordering of all surveys from march 2018 through october 2025, see ai public opinion surveys chronology.

scope and coverage

the collection documents:

trust levels and trends across demographics and regions
adoption patterns by geography, generation, and sector
concerns about employment, privacy, bias, misinformation
regulatory attitudes and governance preferences
sector-specific impacts (journalism, finance, healthcare, education)

key metrics tracked include trust in ai companies (edelman: 62% in 2019 declining to 54% in 2024), global ai acceptance (30% embrace vs 35% reject in 2024), and employment concerns (eurobarometer: 66% of europeans fear job losses).

major research organizations

pew research center

surveys on ai attitudes across workplace, healthcare, news, and social impacts. sample sizes typically 4,000-5,000 us adults with demographic breakdowns.

ai workers survey (2025) - 5,273 us workers, 52% worried vs 27% excited about ai in workplace

stanford hai ai index

stanford human-centered ai institute (HAI) annual report. chapter 8 covers public opinion, synthesizing data from multiple surveys to track global sentiment trends.

ai index 2025 chapter 8 - annual benchmark for global ai public opinion trends

ipsos

multi-country surveys tracking ai understanding, comfort levels, and expectations. annual ai monitor series covers 30+ countries with year-over-year comparisons.

global ai opinions 2022 - 21 countries, documents stark divide between emerging (71% positive) and developed economies (54% positive)
ai monitor 2023 - 32 countries, 67% claim good understanding, 53% excited vs 50% nervous

kpmg

2025 study of 48,000+ respondents across 47 countries examining trust, attitudes, and usage patterns.

trust attitudes and use of ai 2025 - 48,000+ people across 47 countries, documents trust deficits and varying adoption rates

morning consult

regular pulse surveys of us consumers tracking ai usage and perceptions.

ai usage and perceptions nov 2024 - 4,024 us consumers, 46% have used ai tools

management consulting firms

deloitte

quarterly “state of generative ai in the enterprise” series throughout 2024. surveys 2,700-2,800 business leaders across 14 countries per quarter.

q1 2024 state of genai - baseline survey documenting high expectations vs risk concerns
q2 2024 state of genai - getting real about implementation
q3 2024 state of genai - focus on data governance and risk
q4 2024 state of genai - 74% meeting roi expectations, regulation emerges as top barrier
leading edge insights - lessons from early adopters

mckinsey

annual state of ai survey of business leaders across 100+ countries tracking enterprise adoption and transformation.

state of ai 2025 - 1,491 participants across 101 nations, 78% using ai in at least one function

accenture

surveys of c-suite leaders examining genai impact on enterprise transformation.

reinvention with genai (full report) - 3,450 c-suite leaders, 74% seeing investments meet/exceed expectations
executive summary - concise overview of five c-suite imperatives

pwc

ai jobs barometer analyzing ~1 billion job advertisements across six continents to measure ai’s employment impact.

global ai jobs barometer 2025 - billion job ads across six continents, documents 56% wage premium for ai skills

trust and perception studies

edelman trust barometer

annual trust survey with ai focus. tracks trust in ai companies and technology adoption across 28+ countries.

trust barometer ai 2024 - 32,000 respondents across 28 countries, only 30% embrace ai vs 35% reject

eurobarometer

european commission official survey tracking eu citizen attitudes toward ai and future of work.

ai and future of work 2025 - 62% view ai positively, 66% fear job losses, strong demand for regulation

sector-specific surveys

reuters institute - journalism

reuters institute for the study of journalism examining public attitudes toward genai in news across six countries.

genai and news audiences 2024 - public uncomfortable with ai-generated news, behind-the-scenes uses most acceptable

us treasury - financial services

us department of treasury report on ai in financial services. based on 103 comment letters from financial firms, consumer groups, tech providers, and trade associations.

ai in financial services 2024 - 103 comment letters from industry, highlights privacy and bias risks

key findings across surveys

trust trends

trust in ai companies declined from 62% (2019) to 54% (2024) per edelman. kpmg 47-country study shows persistent trust deficits. concerns about reliability, bias, and privacy persist even among ai users.

adoption patterns

geographic: emerging economies consistently more optimistic (71%) than developed nations (54%)
generational: gen z and younger millennials significantly more comfortable with ai than boomers
economic: higher income/education correlates with higher ai usage and more nuanced opinions
sectoral: cybersecurity and it functions lead in roi satisfaction; creative fields most skeptical

expectations vs implementation

74% of enterprises report genai investments meeting expectations (deloitte q4 2024), but only 21% have redesigned workflows (mckinsey 2025). stated belief in transformative potential coexists with discomfort regarding ai-generated content and automation.

primary concerns ranked

job displacement - persistent despite evidence of job growth in ai-exposed sectors
privacy concerns - nearly 2x more concerning than job impacts in some surveys
bias and discrimination - especially high concern in europe and developed economies
misinformation - growing concern as genai becomes more capable
control and agency - fear of algorithmic determinism

regulatory preferences

majorities across regions support ai regulation. eurobarometer: 84% want careful ai management, 82% support privacy protections. regulatory support extends across demographic groups including those favorable to ai adoption.

methodology considerations

factors affecting survey comparability:

sample methodology: online panels, representative sampling, or business leader panels
geographic scope: single country, multinational, or global coverage
question framing: terminology (“ai” vs “genai” vs specific applications) affects responses
temporal context: pre-chatgpt (before november 2022) vs post-chatgpt surveys show different baseline awareness
respondent selection: general public vs workers vs executives vs sector specialists

consulting firm surveys (deloitte, mckinsey, accenture, pwc) sample business leaders; may show higher optimism than general population surveys (pew, ipsos, eurobarometer).

longitudinal data

year-over-year tracking available from:

ipsos ai monitor - annual surveys 2022, 2023, 2024 across 30+ countries
deloitte quarterly series - q1-q4 2024 tracking within-year sentiment shifts
stanford ai index - annual aggregation of multiple survey sources
edelman trust barometer - ai trust metrics tracked since 2019

data limitations

gaps in current survey coverage:

geographic coverage: africa, south america, southeast asia underrepresented relative to population
longitudinal individual tracking: most surveys use cross-sectional design rather than panel data
stated vs revealed preferences: surveys measure reported attitudes rather than observed behavior
response granularity: binary positive/negative framings may miss contextual or conditional attitudes
demographic sampling: marginalized and vulnerable populations often undersampled

usage recommendations

cross-reference: compare methodologies and results across multiple surveys before drawing conclusions
track trends: use longitudinal data to measure rate of change in attitudes and concerns
investigate outliers: when results diverge from consensus, examine sample composition and question framing
contextualize metrics: interpret absolute percentages relative to baseline and trend direction
consult primary sources: bookmark descriptions summarize key findings but omit methodological details and confidence intervals

inclusion criteria

surveys included meet these requirements:

clear methodology documentation (sample design, survey instrument, limitations)
minimum sample size (typically 1,000+ for national surveys, 10,000+ for multinational)
publicly accessible results
published by research organization, academic institution, or government agency

to suggest additions, contact through site contact page or github issues.

collection metadata

page compiled october 2025. survey coverage: 2022-2025, emphasizing post-chatgpt period (november 2022 onward) when public ai awareness increased substantially.