UK report: 21% of British adults used AI to access news in past month

Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, published its annual News Consumption Report on 15 September. The survey found that about 21% of British adults had used AI applications or services to access news in the past month, with 13% using ChatGPT for this purpose.

The report shows that online platforms have become an increasingly important route to news for UK audiences, with 82% of adults getting news via the internet in the past month. Social media and video-sharing platforms were common sources, used by 60% of adults; among those aged 16-24 and children aged 12-15, the figure reached 78%.

Use of AI platforms for news was more common among younger people and wealthier households. Despite AI's growing role, public trust in AI-written news remains cautious: 56% of adult respondents said they trusted AI-generated news less than human-written news.

According to the report, many news items encountered through social media, video-sharing platforms and AI platforms still originate from traditional broadcasters rather than native platform creators. Data showed that 80% of British adults had consumed BBC news content across channels in the past month, making the BBC the most widely used news provider overall.

Ian Macrae, Ofcom's director of market intelligence, said that in an "always-on" information environment, most people do not go directly to news; instead, news reaches them through various online intermediaries, increasingly powered by AI. However, he added, audiences still show strong discrimination about which news sources they trust.