VercatusReported consumer trust in AI search in 2026
Consumer trust in AI search fell while usage rose. Fractl's Q2 2026 survey (1,008 US consumers, 150 marketers) found the share calling AI more helpful than traditional search dropped from 82% (2025) to 54%; skeptics (who rate AI less helpful than search) grew from 3% to 17%; 40% said heavy AI use would decrease their trust in a favourite brand (20% in 2025); and 70% said their AI use for search had increased over the past year.
Sources
- 1
CGrade C: reputable industry data or observation. A grade describes the provenance of the sources above; it is not a probability that a change will work. The effect basis says how the size of the effect is known: measured by a study, taken from an industry report, only documented without a size, or not quantified.
Put this evidence to work
Related entries
More in Answer engines, or search the whole base.
All Answer engines entries