Report · AI & Tech

For many users, AI chatbots don't affect loneliness

Reading

Talking with an AI chatbot is doing little to Americans' sense of loneliness in either direction: 45% say chatbot interactions have made no change in how lonely they feel, and another four-in-ten (40%) have never interacted with an AI chatbot at all, according to a May 2026 Verasight survey.

One-in-ten Americans (10%) say those interactions have made their loneliness slightly or much better, including 3% who say much better, while about half as many (5%) say they have made it slightly or much worse, including 1% who say much worse.

Topline

single choice

Topline distribution

For many users, AI chatbots don't affect loneliness.

How has interacting with AI chatbot affected your sense of loneliness?

  • No change 44.9%
  • I have never interacted with an AI chatbot 40.0%
  • Slightly better 7.4%
  • Slightly worse 3.4%
  • Much better 2.8%
  • Much worse 1.5%

2026 · base n 496 · +/- 4.7%

beliefs

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Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2026-05-11 → 2026-05-11
Base (unweighted)
496
Margin of error
+/- 4.7%
Module
beliefs

Source

Citation

Verasight SPSP Omnibus Survey #2026-045, fielded May 11-11, 2026, N=496 US adults age 18+, +/- 4.7%.

https://reports.verasight.io/r/spsp26

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io. Verified legacy reports remain on their original hosts, and unpublished reports are marked pending.
Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io; older reports may remain on verified legacy hosts.