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AI chatbots are rarely used as a daily news source

Source reportMethodology

Overview

AI chatbots are the one online news channel that has not caught on. 61% of U.S. adults never get news from chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, and just 4% often do.

The established channels reach near-identical audiences. News websites or apps (76%), search engines (75%) and social media (75%) each reach about three-quarters of adults at least sometimes.

Topline

61% of U.S. adults never get news from AI chatbots, compared with 8% who never get news from news websites or apps.

Now thinking about the news you get on a smartphone, computer, or tablet, how often do you get news from… - News websites or apps

  • Sometimes 38.6%
  • Often 36.9%
  • Rarely 16.1%
  • Never 8.4%

2026 · base n 1,690 · +/- 2.8%

What do Americans from both parties agree on? AI Regulation

View source data

Additional supporting data from this section.

Stacked breakdown

Just 4% of U.S. adults often get news from AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini; 61% never do.

Now thinking about the news you get on a smartphone, computer, or tablet, how often do you get news from… - AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini

Often
4.2%
Sometimes
15.0%
Rarely
19.8%
Never
60.9%

2026 · base n 1,690 · +/- 2.8%

What do Americans from both parties agree on? AI Regulation

View source data

Chatbot news use is rare

On their smartphones, computers and tablets, 61% of U.S. adults never get news from AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini, and another 20% rarely do, a combined 81%.

Just 4% often get news from a chatbot, and 15% sometimes do. Adults 65 and older are the most likely to have skipped chatbots entirely, with 67% saying never, compared with 56% of adults 30 to 49.

Websites, search and social media dominate

About three-quarters of adults at least sometimes get news from news websites or apps (76%, combining 37% often and 39% sometimes), through Google or other search engines (75%, combining 29% often and 46% sometimes) and from social media (75%, combining 41% often and 34% sometimes).

Social media is the most frequent habit of the three: 41% often get news there, including 56% of adults under 30. News websites or apps skew the other way, with 47% of adults 65 and older often using them, versus 27% of adults under 30.

Podcasts and newsletters also trail

Podcasts reach a limited news audience: 11% of adults often get news from them, while 66% rarely (24%) or never (42%) do.

Email newsletters look similar. About one in ten adults (11%) often get news from them, while 36% never do and another 27% rarely do.

Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Population
US adults age 18+
Field dates
2026-06-18 → 2026-06-19
Base (unweighted)
1,690
Margin of error
+/- 2.8%
Module
AI Regulation
Sponsor
Verasight
Weight variable
weight
Weighting targets
age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status

Sources

[1]

Citation

What do Americans from both parties agree on? AI Regulation, fielded June 18-19, 2026, N=1,690 US adults age 18+, +/- 2.8%.

https://reports.verasight.io/r/june-2026-ai-survey

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.