One-third of German residents use AI at least once a week

One-third of people in Germany use artificial intelligence (AI) at least once a week, a survey found.

The study by digital industry group Bitkom found 15% of respondents use AI applications daily, with a further 19% reporting usage at least once a week. 

In contrast, 22% of respondents said they do not use or plan to use AI, while 18% said they were open to using it but do not currently.

“Artificial intelligence has become part of everyday life faster than any other innovation before it,” said Bitkom President Ralf Wintergerst. “Germany must not only use AI, but also help shape it – and bring the sceptics along with it.”

The study surveyed 1,003 people aged 16 and over in Germany between March and April. 

Contributing to users’ scepticism is the fact that the AI scene is clearly dominated by US providers. 

The market leader is ChatGPT from OpenAI (used by 71% of respondents who employ AI), followed by Google’s Gemini (50%) and Microsoft’s Copilot (43%).

Other US services such as Elon Musk’s Grok (6%) and Anthropic’s Claude (5%), by contrast, play only a minor role, as does the European alternative Le Chat by Mistral, with 4% usage.

Almost three-quarters of respondents (72%) believe Germany is too dependent on the US when it comes to AI. 

Wintergerst warned against accepting this dependency, arguing that Europe must invest heavily in its own technologies to avoid become a "digital colony."

In the workplace, just under half (48%) of participants use AI, while 45% reject its usage.

Some 12% said they use AI without their employer's knowledge, while only 21% said they have taken advantage of in-house AI training.

Although just 13% of non-users said they reject AI out of principle, only 11% of respondents said they view the technology with peace of mind.

German residents' greatest fears with regards to AI are the spread of misinformation that is difficult to detect (cited by 50%) as well as concerns that the technology could gain too much power (49%).