Report · AI & Tech

People are less comfortable raising sensitive topics with AI than with another person

Reading

Confiding in an AI assistant does not sit as easily with Americans as confiding in a person they know. Nearly half (48%) say they would be less comfortable discussing sensitive personal topics with an AI, including 36% who say much less comfortable, according to a September 2025 Verasight survey of 1,519 U.S. adults.

Far fewer (18%) say they would be more comfortable with the AI, including 5% who say much more comfortable. Another 21% say it would feel about the same, and 13% are not sure.

Topline

single choice

Topline distribution

People are less comfortable raising sensitive topics with AI than with another person.

Compared with talking to a human you know, how comfortable would you be discussing sensitive personal topics with an AI assistant?

  • Much less comfortable with AI 36.4%
  • About the same 20.9%
  • Somewhat more comfortable with AI 13.1%
  • Don’t know/Not sure 12.7%
  • Somewhat less comfortable with AI 11.9%
  • Much more comfortable with AI 5.0%

2025 · base n 1,519 · +/- 3.3%

AI Adoption Survey August 2025

View source

Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2025-09-03 → 2025-09-08
Base (unweighted)
1,519
Margin of error
+/- 3.3%
Module
AI Adoption Survey August 2025

Source

Citation

AI Adoption Survey August 2025, fielded September 3-8, 2025, N=1,519 United States adults, +/- 3.3%.

https://reports.verasight.io/r/august-ai-survey-2025

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.