Q4 2025 (October - December)
One in three (33%) Americans now use AI on a daily or weekly basis, a significant increase from 24% one year ago (Q4 2024).
Two in three (65%) have ever tried, significantly higher than 54% last year.
AI sentiment has also shifted among the public: one in three (33%) say they are concerned about AI, up significantly from 27% a year ago.
Americans’ perceptions of AI’s impact on their lives has also polarized, with 42% believing the technology will have both a positive and negative impact, up significantly from 38% the previous quarter (Q3 2025), and from 35% the previous year.
Non-consensual sharing or storage of personal data are consumers’ top concern when it comes to AI assistants
Four in ten (38%) Americans say an AI assistant storing or sharing personal data without consent would make them lose trust the quickest in the assistant’s company.
- One in four (23%) cite a lack of ability to transfer to a human agent.
- 14% cite a lack of transparency about being an AI assistant
- 11% cite providing generic or scripted answers
Americans mostly reject AI’s presence in the recruitment process
Americans overwhelmingly (87%) favor human involvement in the overall job application process. Half (48%) would trust a human with some AI processes, while 39% only trust a human (without any AI influence). Only 9% place most of their trust in AI. More than one in three (35%) Americans say they are uncomfortable with any amount of use of AI by companies for recruiting. However, not all aspects are rejected:
- 31% are comfortable with companies using AI to identify potential candidates
- 26% are comfortable with AI used to analyze and screen resumes
- 26% are comfortable with AI reaching out to potential candidates
- 24% are comfortable with AI screening out applicants in the initial stages of the process
- 22% are comfortable with AI conducting skill-based challenges
- 13% are comfortable with AI analyzing interview performance
- Only 6% are comfortable with AI conducting interviews
- Only 5% are comfortable with AI making the final decision to hire or reject an applicant.
While 61% of Americans would use AI to help get a job, only 25% trust AI usage from recruiters to evaluate them fairly
Americans are three times as likely to trust a human recruiter over AI
Only one in four (25%) Americans are confident in AI’s ability to evaluate job applicants fairly; one in three (32%) have no confidence at all, and 28% only have a sliver of confidence. Conversely, they are three times more likely to trust a human recruiter for a fair assessment (74%).
The majority (61%) of Americans would use AI when applying for jobs, with 35% completely opting out of using AI for any part of the job application process
Using AI to optimize a resume is the top AI use case when applying for a job, with 37% open to doing so.
- 31% would use AI to research the company and role
- 30% would use AI to prepare for an interview
- 30% would use AI to generate a cover letter
- 26% would use AI to identify any skill gaps
- 17% would use AI to help with salary and offer negotiations
Methodology: This quarter’s SurveyMonkey study was conducted December 16-18, 2025 among a sample of 2,901 adults in the US. Respondents for this survey were selected from a non-probability online panel. The modeled error estimate is +/- 2 percentage points. Data have been weighted for age, race, sex, education, and geography using the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to reflect the overall demographic composition of the United States.
| Period | Sample size | Fielding dates | Margin of Error (MOE) |
| Q4 ‘25 | n=2,901 U.S. adults | 12/16-18/25 | +/- 2.0pp |
| Q3 ‘25 | n=10,558 U.S. adults | 07/11/25 - 09/23/25 | +/- 1.0pp |
| Q2 ‘25 | n=6,997 U.S. adults | 04/11/25 - 06/23/25 | +/- 1.5pp |
| Q1 ‘25 | n=41,373 U.S. adults | 01/22/25 - 03/31/25 | +/- 1.0pp |
| Q4 ‘24 | n=25,030 U.S. adults | 10/25/24 - 12/31/24 | +/- 1.0pp |
