Voters Rely on AI Chatbots to Navigate Midterm Elections
More voters turn to AI chatbots for election info, but trust in their answers remains low. Discover how AI is shaping voting decisions.
POLICY WIRE — Washington, D.C. — A growing number of U.S. voters are turning to artificial intelligence tools to help decide whom to support in the November midterm elections, according to new research and interviews with individuals who rely on these platforms for political insights.
A report from the American Association of Political Consultants Foundation revealed that 25% of Americans use AI tools daily, with 61% using them at least a few times a month. Among those, 20% said their usage involved political content, including candidate information and voting-related queries.
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NPR spoke with several voters who used AI chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude to explore candidates in local races and understand their positions on key issues. One user, Adam Johnson, described an hours-long conversation with ChatGPT to determine his vote, while another, Lisa Veldran, used Gemini to compare gubernatorial candidates. Lakshmi Iyer even built a website called Ballot Lookup using Claude to guide voters in Pennsylvania.
However, despite the popularity of AI tools, public trust in their responses remains low. Only 1% of respondents in AAPC’s survey said they trusted AI for political questions, compared to 27% who had more confidence in national news outlets. Experts warn that AI may reinforce existing biases, making users more confident in their views without necessarily expanding their understanding of the issues.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
