# Chatbot adoption by age: methodology

Updated: 8 August 2026

## Scope

This package transcribes Pew Research Center's published U.S. adult percentages for reported ChatGPT use by age from 2023 through 2026. It also includes one clearly marked BGraph ratio comparing the youngest and oldest adult groups inside the 2026 survey.

## Source input

The 2026 results come from a survey of U.S. adults conducted 17 to 23 February 2026. Pew's published chart also provides the 2023, 2024, and 2025 series.

## Transformations

Published percentages were converted into one row per year and age segment. The 2026 youngest-to-oldest ratio is 61 divided by 19, or approximately 3.2. No interpolation, weighting, or imputation was applied.

## Reproducibility

Filter the CSV by `period` to reproduce a single-year age comparison. Filter by `segment` to inspect the published time series, but preserve the 2026 methodology flag. Row `adoption-021` is the only BGraph calculation.

## Limitations

- Results describe U.S. adults and are not global adoption estimates.
- The 2026 question also referenced other chatbots, creating a break from the 2023 to 2025 wording.
- Ever-use is not a measure of frequency, intensity, prompt purpose, or commercial behavior.
- Group percentages should not be used to infer an individual's behavior or characteristics.
- Survey estimates have sampling and non-sampling uncertainty described by Pew.

## Preferred citation

BGraph Research. (2026). Chatbot adoption in 2026 is broad, but not evenly distributed. Updated 8 August 2026. https://bgraph.io/research/chatbot-adoption-by-age-2026.