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The Gender Gap in AI

Evidence type
Survey
Sources
1 sourceJournalism
Published
3 min read
Truvace record
TRV-2026-2867cite or check it

Men and women now use AI chatbots at similar rates, but men use them more often, while women are more skeptical of AI's impact on their lives.

The problem

In a Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults conducted Feb. 17-23, 2026, women were about twice as likely to expect AI to affect them negatively over the next 20 years as positively (33% vs. 17%), and 68% said AI is advancing too quickly versus 58% of men.

In brief

A Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults, conducted Feb. 17-23, 2026, finds men and women now use AI chatbots at similar rates, but women are more negative about AI's future. Women were about twice as likely to expect a negative personal impact over the next 20 years as a positive one (33% vs. 17%), while men were roughly evenly split.

The overall chatbot usage gap has closed. Two years earlier, men were 11 percentage points more likely than women to say they had used a chatbot. Men still use chatbots daily more often (27% vs. 20%) and say more often that chatbots help their productivity (35% vs. 25%).

The differences extend to views on societal impact and pace. 43% of women expect AI to affect society negatively versus 36% of men, and 68% of women say AI is advancing too quickly versus 58% of men. Pew says the pattern also appears in other surveys of teenagers and AI experts.

Main points

  1. Overall chatbot use is now about even: 47% of women and 50% of men say they ever use one, a gap that stood at 11 percentage points in 2024.
  2. ChatGPT use is identical at 44% for men and women, while men are more likely to use Gemini (29% vs. 20%), Copilot (22% vs. 13%) and Grok (11% vs. 4%).
  3. Men are more likely to use chatbots daily (27% vs. 20%) and to feel extremely or very confident using them (22% vs. 15%).
  4. 35% of men say chatbots help their productivity, against 25% of women.
  5. Men are more likely to use chatbots to search for information (45% vs. 39%) and for work tasks among employed adults (40% vs. 35%); women are slightly more likely to seek emotional support or advice (11% vs. 8%).
  6. Men are likelier to say they have heard a lot about AI (55% vs. 41%) and about chatbots (48% vs. 38%).
  7. Women are more likely to have a smartwatch (40% vs. 34%), while more men read AI summaries atop search results (63% vs. 57%).

The full story

Pew's figures show the adoption gap closing. Among all U.S. adults, 49% say they use chatbots, with 50% of men and 47% of women. The 2024 question was asked only of people who had heard at least a little about chatbots, so the comparison is not exact.

Regular use and brand choice still differ. Men are more likely to report daily use, and to use Gemini, Copilot, Grok and Claude. Meta AI is the one chatbot women use slightly more (15% vs. 13%).

Reasons for use are broadly similar: search and work tasks top the list for both groups. Men are somewhat more likely to use chatbots for fun, news and information searches. Differences on medical advice (21% vs. 19%), diet and fitness information, and companionship are small or absent.

Attitudes diverge more sharply. Only 11% of women expect a positive effect on society, versus 22% of men. On personal impact, 29% of men expect a positive effect against 17% of women. Men are about 10 percentage points more likely to say AI is advancing at about the right pace.

Sources

1 on file
  1. Pew Research Centerpewresearch.org
    Journalism2026-10-16

Talk it over

Three questions to start on, two more if you have timePew found 47% of women and 50% of men use chatbots, yet women were about twice as likely to expect a negative personal impact as a positive one (33% vs. 17%). What might explain use that is similar alongside views that differ?

Start with a question

The Gender Gap in AIhttps://truvace.com/item/the-gender-gap-in-ai

  1. Pew found 47% of women and 50% of men use chatbots, yet women were about twice as likely to expect a negative personal impact as a positive one (33% vs. 17%). What might explain use that is similar alongside views that differ?

    Answer in the thread

  2. The 2024 chatbot question was asked only of people who had heard at least a little about chatbots, while 2026 covered all U.S. adults. What does that change about the claim that the usage gap has closed?

    Answer in the thread

  3. Women were slightly more likely to seek emotional support or advice from chatbots (11% vs. 8%), and 68% said AI is advancing too quickly versus 58% of men. Who should AI companies and regulators be listening to as they set the pace?

    Answer in the thread
If you have more time

  • Pew says similar patterns appear in other surveys of teenagers and AI experts. Which of those surveys would you look up to see whether the gap holds for a group you know?

    Answer in the thread

  • Men say more often that chatbots help their productivity (35% vs. 25%) and are likelier to use them for work tasks (40% vs. 35%). How could that play out in a workplace you know, and what would you want to measure?

    Answer in the thread

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