Media study 2026: nearly 60 percent of Germans use AI apps

AI application use has grown significantly in Germany. According to t3n, which reported on the ARD/ZDF media study 2026 on 24 September 2026, 59 percent of respondents aged 14 and over said they use AI tools at least occasionally.

How the data was collected

GIM Heidelberg surveyed 2,462 German-speaking people for the study on behalf of ARD/ZDF-Forschung. Fieldwork took place in January and April 2026. The figures rely on self-reporting. In technology topics, this method tends to understate heavy use rather than overstate it.

The jump in regular use

37 percent belong to the regular-use group, meaning they use AI tools at least once a week. A year earlier, that figure was 22 percent. The rise of more than half in a single year is the most striking number in the survey.

Age distribution varies widely. Among 14 to 29 year olds, 92 percent use AI applications at least occasionally, and 68 percent use them at least weekly. For people aged 70 and over, the figures are 15 and 8 percent, respectively.

Scepticism remains part of the picture

Usage and distrust coexist. 54 percent of users said they approach generated texts and images with scepticism and check them for factual errors. The "ratings versus ratings" narrative common in television, pitting usage against doubt, dissolves in practice. Many people simply verify what the machine produces.

For the media houses that commissioned the study, the figure is also a reflection on themselves. If more than half the population considers machine-generated content potentially wrong, provenance records and transparency become more important. The EU AI Act has only just begun to regulate this area with transparency obligations under Article 50.

Streaming remains stable

Alongside AI use, the study notes that streaming service reach has stabilised at its current level. Growth in devices and access routes is shifting from access questions to user routines.

37 percent weekly use in the first survey year to ask these questions, a pace the media industry rarely sees.