What Germans Think About AI

In a recent AI study (November 2025), slightly more than 1,000 Germans were asked about artificial intelligence (AI), online security, deepfakes and democracy.

Overall, there is a strong increase in the uptake of AI in Germany. Roughly two out of three Germans use AI (65%) in one way or another. Given that ChatGPT started to appear in Germany around November 2022, the question “Have you already used AI?” shows a rapid rise.

About half a year after the launch of ChatGPT, 23% of Germans said “yes”. By October 2023, the number had increased to 37%; by October 2024, it was 53%; and by October 2025, it had reached 65%.

Meanwhile, slightly more men than women are using AI. However, AI use appears to be related to age more than to gender. In other words, younger Germans are using AI more than older Germans – no surprise here. To the question “Have you ever tried or used an AI application?”, 67% of men said yes, while 63% of women said that they had used AI.

The gap is vastly greater when it comes to age. In 2025, 91% of 16- to 29-year-olds said they had used AI. For the 30- to 49-year-old cohort, the number is still 80%, while for 50- to 64-year-old Germans, it drops to 63%. Once people are 65 and older, the use of AI declines to about 35%.

Meanwhile, almost every second individual uses AI several times a week. That was the answer to the question “How often do you use AI?” Twelve per-cent said daily, 33% said several times a week, and 36% said once or twice per month. Among younger Germans, these numbers – as expected – are higher. In total, 55% of all 16- to 29-year-olds use AI frequently.

When it comes to using AI at work or privately, a clear 1/3 to 2/3 gap emerges. In other words, 61% use AI for private purposes, while only 32% use AI for professional or work-related purposes, including school, education, and studying. AI is thus used more at home than outside the home in Germany.

When asked whether they use paid AI accounts, 88% said they do not use “paid-for” accounts in the private sphere. This number declines to 67% when it comes to work-related use.

Meanwhile, the mobile phone or smartphone has overtaken laptops. When asked which device or devices they use for AI, the smartphone is the preferred choice for 82%, while PCs or laptops are used by 71%. Devices such as smart speakers (e.g., Amazon’s Alexa) and smartwatches are used by a meager 4% each.

Beyond all this, ChatGPT dominates AI usage in Germany. Eighty-five percent use ChatGPT, followed by Gemini (33%), Copilot (26%), DeepL (20%), Meta AI (18%), Google AI (14%), Bing Search (10%), Canva AI (8%), Perplexity (7%), DeepSeek (4%), Claude AI (3%), Grok (3%), Le Chat (1%), and others (4%).

On the question “What is AI used for?”, 72% said they use AI when searching for information. Forty-three percent said they use AI to create or improve texts. Thirty-eight percent use AI for brainstorming and the development of ideas. Thirty-four percent use AI for translations. Sixteen percent use AI to create images, videos, or audio files. Eleven percent let AI perform calculations, while only 8% use AI to create websites or code. The same share (8%) applies to analyzing datasets.

On the question of why they are using AI, 61% said it helps them work more productively, and the same share applies to learning and education (61%). Fifty-four percent use AI to deal with routine tasks, 50% to develop new ideas, and 47% to be creative. Interestingly – and perhaps surprisingly – 43% of Germans use AI to solve personal problems. Thirty-two percent use it to better organize everyday life, and 29% use AI for fun and entertainment.

Regarding how people communicate with AI, 96% said they do so via text input. Voice-to-text input is used by 38%, while voice dialogue mode is used by 33%.

On the more noteworthy question of how Germans describe their emotional relationship with AI applications, most (80%) said that AI is simply a tool and that they do not have an emotional relationship with it. Germans do not seem to “love” these machines. Twenty-seven percent see AI as a smart coach who supports them in different situations, while only 6% see AI as a good friend to whom they entrust personal things. Notably, zero percent (0%) said they see AI as a permanent partner. It gets even better: nobody (0%) sees AI as someone for whom they feel romantic or emotionally close.

Yet when it comes to trustworthiness, Germans trust AI more than ever before. In 2024, 48% reported a high degree of trust in AI. By 2025, this number had increased to 53%. Still, 41% expressed rather low confidence in AI delivering trustworthy answers. Absolutely no trust in AI was expressed by 4% in 2025 (up from 2% in 2024).

While 45% – slightly less than half – of Germans trust AI only to a limited degree (41%) or not at all (4%), Germans are extremely unwilling to share personal and confidential data with AI. To the question “Have you ever entered personal or confidential data – such as your name, address, health data, or passwords – into an AI program?”, a reassuring 86% said “no”.

This reluctance increases with age. In the 16- to 29-year-old cohort, 78% said “no”, while 22% said “yes”. In the 30- to 49-year-old group, 85% said “no”. Among 50- to 64-year-olds, 92% said “no”, with the same applying to those over 65. In other words, Germany’s elderly are less likely to hand over sensitive data to AI, whether dodgy or not.

On the question “How big is your concern that the data you have entered into an AI application could be hacked, misused, or even published without your consent?”, 13% said they are very worried. Thirty-seven percent said they are somewhat worried, 43% said they are less worried, and only 4% said they are not worried at all.

On deepfakes and the question “Which of the following experiences have you already had in connection with AI?”, 51% said they had come across manipulated AI videos online showing real people. Thirty-one percent said they had received AI-generated phishing emails with deceptively realistic texts. Twenty-six percent said they had been called by automated AI voices imitating human conversations.

Another 26% agreed with the statement “I have the impression that frequent use of AI makes me think less”. In other words, AI-induced cognitive dulling – or “cognitive atrophy” – is not a figment of our imagination.

On the issue of AI-generated false images and the question “Have you ever fallen for AI-generated content such as texts, images, videos, or audio?”, 51% said yes. Twenty-six percent were surprised by how genuine the content appeared, while 25% said they noticed it very quickly. Thirty-two percent said they had never encountered this, and 16% said they were not sure.

With 51% saying “yes” and another 16% unsure – together 67%, or two-thirds of all Germans – it is reasonable to argue that this is a serious problem. The arrest of Donald Trump (wishful thinking), the pope’s puffer jacket (funny), and Cambridge Analytica’s (dangerous) manipulation of democracy have already shown this.

Fittingly, Germans are worried about the use of AI to manipulate democracy. Germans see democracy and the media as being under the influence of AI. When asked about the consequences of AI – such as ChatGPT – for Germany’s media system and democracy, Germans expressed deep concern.

To the question “To what extent do you agree with the following statements?”, a whopping 91% said that AI makes it harder to distinguish between real and manipulated content. Simultaneously, 83% believe AI will massively accelerate the spread of accidental misinformation and deliberate disinformation.

Seventy-three percent are convinced that AI negatively influences political opinion formation, while roughly half of all Germans (49%) think AI is a threat to democracy.

Many Germans are also worried about the “incalculable” risks of AI. To the question “How much do you agree with the following statements about possible opportunities and risks of generative AI?”, a staggering 97% said there are unpredictable risks associated with AI technology.

Worse, a clear majority of almost 60% think they will lose their jobs as a result of AI. At the same time, 32% worry about losing out in AI competence. And just when one might think it cannot get worse, about half of all Germans (49%) are convinced that humanity will lose control over AI technology.

Set against this is the conviction that AI needs regulation. Germans clearly do not believe in the neoliberal myth that “the free market will fix it”. To the question on European regulation of AI, a massive 83% said regulation is necessary to responsibly manage AI development and use.

Sixty-two percent said regulation makes them feel better protected from AI-related risks, and 47% believe regulation will promote innovation in Europe by creating clear rules and standards.

Meanwhile, 33% believe regulation will slow technological development, while 28% think it will help Europe gain competitiveness compared to the USA and China. Interestingly, 17% agreed that AI should be banned altogether.

While a ban is rather unlikely, regulation – most likely at the European level – has already occurred with the EU AI Act of August 2024.

On the question of how important specific measures are to ensure AI safety and ethical standards, a reassuring 89% said it should be mandatory for manufacturers and suppliers to indicate when AI is used in a product or application. Eighty percent said there should be mandatory safety and quality testing of AI systems by independent organizations. In other words, Germans do not want a mirage of so-called “industry self-regulation”.

They want independent oversight and appear not to trust Big Tech – the profit-driven and monopolistic GAFAM corporations (Google/Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook/Meta, Apple, and Microsoft) and their BATX counterparts (Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, and Xiaomi). Among them, the “four headless horsemen of the apocalypse” – Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Meta—run the show.

In the end, Germans show a hefty dose of distrust toward Big Tech and its often-promoted notion of “industry self-regulation”. Al Capone should not make gun laws. Perhaps there are good reasons why ordinary cars require regular technical inspections rather than relying on owner self-regulation. Perhaps large profit-driven corporations should be trusted even less.

Beyond that, Germans are using AI – and usage is growing. With ChatGPT dominating, Germans shifted AI use from laptops to smartphones between 2024 and 2025, with 72% using AI primarily to search for information. Meanwhile, a comforting 80% see AI as a tool, and 0% see it as a romantic partner. AI is a machine, not a girlfriend.

This is further substantiated by the fact that roughly half of Germans believe AI could be hacked and that their data are not secure. Virtually the same number have encountered fake material online, while 91% believe AI will make it harder to distinguish between what is real and what is fake.

Most troubling, however, is that 73% believe AI will negatively influence political opinion formation. Worse still, about half of all Germans think AI poses a danger to democracy.

In a recent AI study (November 20205), slightly more than 1,000 German were asked about artificial intelligence (AI) generative artificial intelligence (GAI) and online security.

Overall, there is a strong increase in the uptake of AI. Roughly two out of three German use AI [65%] in one way or the other. Given that ChatGPT started to appear in Germany around November 2022, to the question, have you already used AI? 23% of German said “yes” about half a year after the start of ChatGPT. By October 2023, the number had increased to 37%, by October 2024, it was 53% and by October 2025, it was 65%.

Meanwhile, slightly more men than women are using. However, AI appears to be related to age more than to gender. In other words younger Germans are using AI more than older Germans – no surprise here. To the question, have you ever tried or used an AI application? 67% of men said yes while 63% of women said that they had used AI.

The gap is vastly greater when it comes to age: In 2025, 91% of 16 to 29 year olds, said they had. For the 30 to 49 old cohort, the number is still 80% while for the 50 to 64 year old Germans, the number is 63%. Once 65 and older, the use of AI declines to about 35%.

Meanwhile, almost every second individual has uses AI several times a week. That was the answer to the question, how often do you use AI? 12% said daily, 33% said several times a week and 36% said once or twice per month. Among younger Germans these numbers – as expected – are higher. 55% of all 16 to 29 year olds have used AI.

When it comes to using AI at work or privately, a 1/3 to 2/3 gab emerges. In other words, 61% use AU for private purposes while for professional/work purposes and this including school, education, and studying, only 32% use AI. In other words, AI is used more at home than outside of the home in Germany.

When asked, are you using AI for private/work purposes, are you using paid accounts? 88% of all said, they do not use “paid for” accounts in the private sphere. This number declines to 67% when it come to work.

Meanwhile, the mobile phone or smartphone has overtaken laptops. When asked, at which device or devices are you using for AI? The smartphone is the preferred choice for 82% while the PC or Laptop is used by 71%. Devices like smart speaker (Amazon’s Alexa) and smart watches are used by a meager 4% (others: 4%).

Beyond all this, ChatGPT dominates when it comes to AI in Germany: 85% use ChatGPT, Gemini = 33%, Copilot = 26% DeepL = 20%, Meta AI = 18%. Google AI = 14%, Bing Search = 10%, Canva AI = 8%, Perplexity = 7%, DeepSeek = 4%, Claude AI = 3%, Grok = 3%, Le Chat = 1%, and others” 4%.

On the question of: What is AI used for? AI is used when searching for information, said 72%. I use AI when letting it create or improve texts, said 43%. I use AI for brainstorming and the development of ideas, said 38%.

I let the AI do translations for me, said 34%. To create images, videos and audio files, 16% said they use AI. I let AI perform calculations for me, said 11% and I use AI to create websites or code, said only 8%. The same goes for analyzing data sets [8%].

On the question of why are you using is AI? 61% said, to work more productively and the same goes for learning and education [61%]. To deal with routine tasks, said 54%. I use AI to develop new ideas, said 50%. While 47% said, they use AI to be creative. Interestingly and perhaps even surprisingly, 43% of German use AI to solve personal problems. To better organize my everyday life, said 32% and to have fun and entertain, said 29% .

On the question of how to communicate with AI, 96% said they do so via text input; voice-to-text input is used by 38%;while the voice dialogue mode is used by 33%.

On the more noteworthy question of how German like to describe their emotional relationship to an AI application? Most [80%] said, an AI application is like a tool – I do not have an emotional relationship with AI. Germans do not seem to love machines.

I see AI as a smart coach who supports me in different situations, said 27% while only 6% see AI as a good friend to whom I entrust personal things. Interestingly, zero per-cent [0%] said they see AI like a permanent partner. It gets even better, nobody [0%] sees AI as someone for whom I feel romantic or emotionally close.

Yet, when it comes to trustworthiness, Germans trust AI more than ever before. In the year 2024, 48% had a high degree of trust into AI. By 2025, this number had increased to 53%. Still, 41% had rather low confidence into AI delivering trustworthy answers. Absolutely no trust in AI had 4% in 2025 (2024: 2%).

While 45% – slightly less than half – of Germans trust AI only to a limited degree (41%) or not at all (4%), Germans are extremely unwilling to share personal and confidential data with AI. To the question of, have you ever entered personal or confidential data – like your name, address, health data, passwords, etc. – into an AI programmed?, a reassuring 86% said “no”.

This number increases with age. In the 16 to 29 year old cohort, 78% said “no” while 22% said “yes”. In the 30 to 49 age groups 85% said “no”, in the 50 to 64 year old groups, 92% said “no” with the same applying for the over 65 year olds. In other words, Germany’s elderly are less likely to hand over their sensitive data to AI whether dodgy or not.

On the question, how big is your concern that the data you have entered into an AI applications can be hacked, misused or even published without your consent?, a significant 13% said, they are very worried that their inputs could be hacked. Somewhat worried, said 37%; less worried, said 43% and 4% said they are not worried at all.

On Deepfakes and the question, which of the following experiences have you already had in connection with the use of AI? 51% said, they have come across manipulated AI videos online that showed real people (Deepfakes). I have received AI-generated phishing emails with deceptively formulated and real-looking texts, said 31%.

I have been called by automated AI voices that imitated human conversations, said 26% and on the issue of, I have the impression that the frequent use of AI makes me think less, 26% said that they agree. In other words, an AI-induced dulling for the mind or “cognitive atrophy” as it has been called, are not figments of our imagination.

On the issue of AI generated false images and the question, have you already “fallen for” AI-generated content such as texts, images, videos, audio? 51% said yes. 26% were surprised at how genuine the content was made to appear; 25% said, yes but I noticed it very quickly; I have never come across this said 32% while 16% said, “I’m not sure”. With 51% saying “yes” and 16% saying they were not sure – combined 67% or 2/3 of all Germans – who have been tricked by faked AI texts, images, videos, audio, it is reasonable to argue that this is a rather serious problem. The arrest of Donald Trump (wishful thinking), the puffer jacket of the pope (funny), and Cambridge Analytica’s manipulation of democracy have already shown this.

Rather fittingly, German are worried about the use of AI to manipulate democracy. On this, Germans see democracy and media under influence of AI. In relation to the use of AI – such as ChatGPT – and the possible consequences for Germany’s media system as well as democracy, Germans are deeply concerned.

To the question, to what extent do you agree with the following statements, a whopping 91% of Germans said that, AI makes it harder to distinguish between real and manipulated content. Simultaneously, 83% believe that AI will massively accelerates the spread of [accidental] misinformation and [deliberate] disinformation.

Meanwhile, 73% of Germans are convinced that AI negatively influences the formation of political opinion while roughly half of all Germans (49%) think that AI is a threat to democracy.

Meanwhile, many Germans are worried about the “incalculable” risks of Ai. To the question, how much do you agree with the following statements about possible opportunities and risks of generative AI? a staggering 97% said, there are unpredictable risks of Ai technology.

Worse, a clear majority of almost 60% (57%) think, they will lose their jobs as a result of AI. At the same token, 32% worry about losing out in “AI competence”. And just when one might think it cannot get worse, it does. About half of all Germans (49%) are convinced that humanity will lose control over AI technology.

Set against this is the conviction that AI is needed. They clearly do not believe in the neoliberal myth of “the free market will fix it”. To the question, to what extent do you agree with the following statements on the European regulation of AI? a massive 83% said that, regulation of AI is necessary to responsibly manage the development and use of AI.

62% said, that they feel better protected from possible risks of AI by regulating AI and 47% said, that the regulation of AI will promote innovation in Europe by creating clear rules and standards.

Meanwhile, 33% believe that the regulation of AI will slow down technological development while 28% think that the regulation of AI will assure that Europe will gaining competitiveness compared to the USA and China. Interestingly, 17% agreed that one should ban AI.

While it is rather unlikely what 17% of Germans want – banning AI – the regulation of AI, most likely at the European level, has already occurred with the EU’s AI act of August 2024.

On the question, how important do you think the following measures are to ensure that products and applications with AI are safe and ethically safe?, a very reassuring 89%said, is should be mandatory for manufacturers and suppliers to indicate that AI is used in a product or application.

Simultaneously, 80% said, there should be a mandatory testing regime of the safety and quality of AI systems by independent testing organizations. In other words, Germans do not want cunning mirage of so-called “industry self-regulation”.

They want an independent state body as they seem not to trust “Big Tech”, the profit-making and monopolistic GAFAM corporations – Google (Alphabet), Amazon, Facebook (Meta), Apple und Microsoft and their evil twin BATX sisters: Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, and Xiaomi. Among those, the “four headless horsemen of the apocalypse” – Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Meta – run the show.

In the end, Germans show a hefty dose of distrust in Big Tech and their often advocated deception of “industry self-regulations”. Perhaps there are good reasons why, for example, ordinary cars need a frequent technical check-up it is not left to the owner to self-regulate technical safety standards. Perhaps large profit-making corporations should be even less trusted.

Beyond that, Germans are using AI and the use is growing. With ChatGPT dominating, Germans switch their AI use from laptops to smartphone between 2024 and 2025 as 72% use it to search for information. Meanwhile, a comforting, 80% see AI as a tool as 0% of Germans see AI as a “romantic” partner.  AI is a machine not a girlfriend.

This is further substantiated by the fact that 50% think, it could be hacked and their data are not secure. Virtually, the same number of Germans have encountered faked material on the Internet while 91% believe AI will make it hard to distinguish between what is real and what is fake.

More troubling is the fact that 73% believe that AI will have negative consequences for the formation of a political opinion. Worse, about half of all Germans think that AI poses a danger to democracy.

Thomas Klikauer was born half-way between Castle Frankenstein, the place where Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, and Karl Benz’s garage where the first motor-car was developed. Educated at the TU Darmstadt, Bremen University, Boston University, and Warwick University, Thomas Klikauer teaches MBA students and supervises PhDs at the Sydney Graduate School of Management (SGSM) at Western Sydney University, Australia. Among his 1,130 publications are 17 books. He writes for ZNet, Cross Border Talks and Countercurrents. His homepage is: klikauer.wordpress.com. He lives in Sydney’s beachside suburb of Coogee.