42% of UK adults are limiting AI use

King’s College London’s Digital Futures Institute and Responsible AI UK found growing resistance to AI tools among UK adults, with 42% deliberately limiting the amount of AI they use. The survey of 2055 adults living in the UK, conducted by Deltapoll in June 2026, points to privacy, security and compliance concerns as the leading reason people are holding back.

The findings suggest access and awareness are not enough to drive regular use. 70% of respondents said it would be difficult or impossible to avoid exposure to AI even if they wanted to, raising concerns about whether people have meaningful consent over when AI is used, how it interacts with them and how they can opt out. The most common reason for limiting AI use was concern about data privacy, security and compliance (29%), followed by a preference to keep working in existing ways (22%).

Attitudes have also become more cautious over time. Between October 2023* and June 2026, the share of UK adults who believe AI has more risks than benefits rose from 48% to 52%, while those who see more benefits than risks fell from 38% to 34%. Gen Z are more regular users than Millennials and Boomers, but are also more likely to limit use and view AI as riskier.