What the data shows about which buying cohorts are driving AI search adoption
“People are using AI now” is no longer a useful sentence.
It is technically true and strategically meaningless.
The more important question is who is using AI for search, how often, and what kind of consumers they are.
This post moves the conversation from broad adoption to specific cohorts. Age. Income. Geography. Trust. All grounded in current, primary data.
No future forecasting, just documented behavior and what we can glean from it.
AI Search Usage Is Not Evenly Distributed
Like every major shift in consumer behavior, AI search adoption is not flat. It clusters.
According to the Attest 2025 Consumer Adoption of AI Report, usage concentrates among younger consumers, higher income brackets, and digitally fluent markets. This is consistent with what the Andreessen Horowitz State of Consumer AI 2025 report shows at the platform level.
This matters because these cohorts are not passive browsers. They are decision makers.
Age: Under-40s Are Carrying the Load
The strongest adoption signal comes from age.
Attest data shows:
- 37 percent of UK consumers under 40 use AI for at least half of their searches.
- 32 percent of US consumers under 40 do the same.
This is not casual experimentation. Using AI for half of all searches indicates habitual substitution, not novelty.
These users are not toggling between AI and traditional search out of curiosity. They are defaulting to AI for speed, synthesis, and clarity.
Trust Favors AI Among Younger Consumers
Adoption without trust does not scale.
Attest found that 18–30 year olds report higher trust in AI search results than in “normal” search engines. That phrasing is revealing.
For this cohort, AI search is not an alternative interface. It is the default reference point.
Trust here does not mean blind belief. It means perceived usefulness and efficiency. The answer feels closer to what they asked for, with less work required.
That trust gap is one of the clearest indicators that AI search behavior is not reversing with age. It compounds.
Income: AI Search Skews Upmarket
AI search adoption is also income weighted.
Higher income consumers show materially higher usage rates. This aligns with historical patterns in early behavior shifts, but with a twist.
These users are not just earlier. They are heavier.
High income consumers are more likely to:
- Use AI for product research
- Validate purchase decisions through AI summaries
- Rely on AI for professional and financial questions
This matters because these cohorts disproportionately influence revenue, not just traffic.
AI search is shaping how high value buyers evaluate options.
Geography: Similar Behavior, Different Curves
The UK and US data tell a consistent story with regional nuance.
| Market | Under-40s Using AI for Half of Searches |
| United Kingdom | 37 percent |
| United States | 32 percent |
The gap is notable but not dramatic. Both markets show AI search firmly embedded among younger consumers.
What differs is pace, not direction.
Both markets reflect the same behavioral shift: AI search is becoming a default layer for information gathering and decision support.
Comparison: Who Uses AI Search vs Traditional Search
| Dimension | Traditional Search Dominant Users | AI Search Dominant Users |
| Age | 40+ | 18–40 |
| Income | Broad | Skews higher |
| Trust | Familiarity driven | Utility driven |
| Use cases | Navigation and discovery | Synthesis and decisions |
| Behavior type | Habitual | Intent focused |
This is not a generational war. It is a usage split driven by efficiency.
AI search attracts users who value fewer steps and clearer answers. That profile overlaps heavily with modern buying behavior.
Why This Matters for Brands Now
This data changes how brands should think about visibility.
If your audience includes:
- Younger professionals
- High income consumers
- Tech fluent decision makers
AI search is already shaping how they encounter brands, products, and narratives.
This is not about abandoning SEO. Traditional search still captures meaningful demand. But AI search is influencing which options are considered before a click ever happens.
At Proper Propaganda, we treat this as a discovery layer problem, not a channel swap.
For related thinking:
- Why PR Is Becoming Training Data for LLM’s
- How AI Search Changes Brand Discovery
- What Makes a Brand Citable by AI
Conclusion: AI Search Is Being Driven by Buyers, Not Browsers
The most important takeaway is not that people are using AI.
It is that specific buying cohorts are using AI for search. Younger. Higher income. More trust forward. More decision oriented.
These are the consumers shaping market outcomes over the next decade.
Understanding who uses AI search clarifies why GEO exists alongside SEO. It is not about replacing what works. It is about staying visible where high value decisions now start.