The Rise of AI Tools: A View of U.S. Consumer Adoption and Application

Whether it is chatbots and assistants to tools for creating text, images, and video, AI is a heavily integrated part of our daily lives and routines. With this massive influx in usage, it begs the need for a better understanding of how are U.S. consumers actually using AI—and where is this growth headed?

At Comscore, we’re applying our decades of expertise in digital behavior measurement to track this shift. We now report on hundreds of consumer-facing AI tools across desktop and mobile platforms, helping quantify the real-world impact of AI adoption and separate the hype from measurable change.

AI Adoption: Widespread and Growing
From what was once the dream of sci-fi origins to a new reality, AI has quickly shifted from a novelty to a necessity in everyday life.

The rapid rise of large language models has prompted businesses to explore new and powerful applications for AI. With data now being generated at an unprecedented scale, AI and machine learning are becoming essential for transforming data into actions for both enterprises and consumers.

For companies, such as Comscore, the application of AI comes as a sense of necessity in in the analysis of large datasets that would be difficult for any human to process, but what we are seeing through the consumer lens is a practical one.
Consumers are turning to AI for a variety of reasons: to summarize content, plan trips, do research, and create everything from written content to videos.

• 86 million desktop users (36% of online PC users) interact with AI tools each month—more than those who visit Travel or Real Estate sites.
• AI assistants lead this adoption, with 72% of desktop AI users engaging with tools like Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, OpenAI ChatGPT, Meta AI, and others .

Cross-Platform Growth: Desktop vs. Mobile
AI adoption spans both desktop and mobile, but user behavior differs by platform – each leaning on the strengths and habits associated with each set of devices.

On desktop, AI is primarily used for productivity, streamlining research, generating content, and supporting decision-making.

• AI tool usage: 36% of PC users
• Top category: AI Assistants (26.1% of users)

Mobile usage, meanwhile, is more creative and social, with users turning to AI for content creation, visual editing, and enhancing their digital presence.

• AI tool usage: 29% of mobile users
• Top category: AI Assistants (13.8%), followed closely by Marketing (9.7%) and Design (6.5%)

The difference reflects how AI on Mobile is deeply intertwined with social media, enabling users to produce engaging content and connect with followers.

Category Leadership: Who’s Driving the AI Boom?
To better understand usage patterns, Comscore has defined specific AI categories – and here is a quick look at those categories with the highest engagement as of March 2025:

Top Desktop AI Categories by Monthly Users

Top Mobile AI Categories by Monthly Users

AI Assistants are the dominant category on both platforms. However, mobile users are more likely to engage with design and marketing tools, while desktop users lean toward research, productivity, and deeper content development.

One rising star: DeepSeek, a newly launched assistant (Jan 2025) with 2.5 million U.S. users in its first month is quickly gaining traction in a competitive space primarily due to its natural language processing and multilingual capabilities.

A Look Ahead
Since Comscore began tracking generative AI search in late 2023, total U.S. search activity has grown 16% - a clear sign that AI is reshaping even established categories.

While ethical debates around AI continue, the consumer value is clear: AI helps people get things done faster and smarter. Comscore will continue to track these trends, offering clarity and insight as the AI landscape evolves.

The AI future isn’t coming - it’s already here.

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