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AI worry is highest in the United States at 74%, and the people who use it every day worry least, Gallup finds

New Gallup data from 37 countries: positive feelings outweigh negative ones almost everywhere, trust in AI's accuracy is still a minority view, and the median share who have never used AI is 57%.

September 23, 2026 · 2 min read

People standing in a crowd, each looking at a phone.
Photo: Unsplash

Gallup published new numbers on September 22 from its ongoing research with Microsoft: the first 37 countries of a study that will "ultimately cover 140 countries". Two findings matter to anyone who sells to the public.

First, the mood is positive almost everywhere. "Overall, positive emotions outweigh negative ones in 34 of the 37 countries, except for the United States, Egypt and the State of Palestine." Curiosity is the most common feeling: the median share who say AI makes them feel curious is 64%.

Second, the United States is the outlier on worry. In Gallup's words, "The United States stands out, with 74% of AI-aware adults saying AI makes them feel worried, followed by the Netherlands at 67%, Canada at 64%, the United Kingdom at 63%". Wealthy Western countries are also the heaviest users: a median 29% use AI daily, against 17% elsewhere.

The twist: heavy users worry least. In the U.S., "68% of daily users are worried, compared with 80% of less frequent users and 74% of those who have never used AI." Trust follows the same ladder: 45% of daily U.S. users trust AI's accuracy "completely or a lot", against 8% of those who have never used it.

And AI is not yet everywhere: across the 37 countries, the median share who have never used AI is 57%.

For a small business the reading is simple: most customers are curious, many are worried, and few fully trust what an AI tells them. A customer who gets an AI answer about your business will probably check it.

What this does not mean. It does not mean Americans reject AI: the same survey finds positive emotions outweigh negative ones in 34 of 37 countries, and in the U.S. "68% of daily users are worried", so worry and use coexist. It does not mean use causes trust or the reverse: Gallup says the survey "cannot establish whether greater trust leads people to use AI more often, whether experience with AI builds trust, or both." It does not describe the whole world yet: these are "the first 37 countries to complete fieldwork this year".
Primary source Gallup · published September 22, 2026
Open it and check the claim yourself. That is the point.

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