1 in 5 Brits using AI for news reports, says Ofcom report
According to Ofcom's News Report 2026, one in five British adults are using AI tools to keep up with the latest news output, and the most popular was ChatGPT, used by 13 per cent.
One in five British adults are using AI tools to keep up with the latest news output, according to a new report from Ofcom.
The UK's regulator for the communications services' News Report 2026 has found 21 per cent of adults have used an AI app or service for this purpose in the past month, and the most popular was ChatGPT, used by 13 per cent.
However, more than half of adults - 56 per cent - said they didn't trust AI-written news as much as human-penned output.
Ian Macrae, Director of Market Intelligence, said: "In today’s ‘always on’ environment, most people don’t go direct to the news, the news is coming to them through different online intermediaries, increasingly AI-enabled.
"But while audiences are discovering news in new ways, they remain discerning about the sources they trust, particularly in moments like elections, and public service media brands continue to play a vital role.
"Given the fundamental shifts rapidly taking hold across the news landscape, public service media must continue to evolve their distribution strategies to continue to meet audiences where they are, and ultimately, avoid getting drowned out by the noise."
The report also found 82 per cent of Britons accessed their news via online sources in the past month.
This is the most popular route, but nearly eight in 10 - 79 per cent - tune into TV to watch the news.
However, British adults spend around 34 minutes consuming news on online platforms, out of the estimated 72 minutes each day that they take in news.
For TV, this is down to 18 minutes.
What's more, nearly six in ten - 57 per cent - consume their news directly through news publishers' websites and apps.
This report highlights the key insights from Ofcom’s latest News Consumption Survey (NCS), which explores the different ways UK adults and children aged 12 to 15 access news today and their attitudes towards different providers.
