1. AI optimism is rising, but so is anxiety.

Globally, the share of respondents who say AI products and services offer more benefits than drawbacks rose from 55% in 2024 to 59% in 2025, even as the share saying these products make them nervous increased to 52%.

2. Southeast Asian countries remain among the world’s most optimistic about AI.

In Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore, more than 80% of respondents say AI will profoundly change their lives in the next 3-5 years, with Malaysia posting the largest increase from 2024.

3. India saw the sharpest rise in AI nervousness of any country surveyed.

Between 2024 and 2025, India registered the sharpest rise in concern around AI usage (+14 percentage points) with only a modest increase in excitement (+2).

4. Workplace AI usage is higher in several emerging economies than in many advanced ones.

In 2025, 58% of employees globally reported using AI at work on a semiregular or regular basis, but in India, China, Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, the share exceeded 80%.

5. AI experts and the U.S. public have very different perspectives on AI's future, except on elections and personal relationships.

On how people do their jobs, 73% of experts expect a positive impact compared to just 23% of the public, a 50-point gap. Similar divides appear for the economy (69% vs. 21%) and medical care (84% vs. 44%).

6. Nearly two-thirds of Americans (64%) expect AI to lead to fewer jobs over the next 20 years, while only 5% expect more.

Experts were less pessimistic (39% fewer, 19% more) but forecast far faster adoption, expecting generative AI to assist 18% of U.S. work hours by 2030 versus the public's estimate of 10%.

7. AI companionship is still niche, and global views vary widely.

More than half of respondents worldwide (52%) reported some excitement about using AI for companionship, compared with just 42% in the United States. Experts forecast that 10% of U.S. adults will use an AI companion daily by 2027, rising to 30% by 2040.

8. The United States reported the lowest trust in its own government to regulate AI responsibly of any country surveyed, at 31%.

The global average was 54%, with Southeast Asian countries leading (Singapore 81%, Indonesia 76%).

9. Across all 50 U.S. states, concern about too little AI regulation outweighs concern about too much.

Nationally, 41% of respondents said federal AI regulation will not go far enough, compared with 27% who said it will go too far, though more than one-third were unsure.

10. Globally, the EU is trusted more than the United States or China to regulate AI effectively.

Across 25 countries in Pew's 2025 survey, a median of 53% said they trust the EU, compared to 37% for the United States and 27% for China.

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