A new survey found that 15% of households in the U.S. that use the internet pay for some kind of artificial intelligence (AI) application.
The consumer survey from Parks Associates asked 8,000 people about their familiarity with generative AI and gauged their perceptions and concerns with the new technology.
In addition to its findings about customers who pay for AI, the survey found that three-quarters of those households were willing to pay for a smart home AI service. That amounts to 11.25% of “U.S. Internet Households.”
The study didn’t specify how it defines “U.S. Internet Households,” but data from the U.S. Census Bureau says 93.1% of Americans say they use the internet. That’s about 92 percent of all households. To extrapolate based on the study, that means about 13 million households may be willing to pay for AI in their connected home devices.
However, the survey also found that “advertising a product as having AI could make consumers less likely to buy those products today.”
Separate research from Parks Associates found that people harbor doubts about AI in their daily lives. More than two-thirds of people were concerned about data security and privacy implications, and even more were concerned about society’s ability to use AI responsibly.
Home security may be a bright spot for companies hoping to integrate AI for early adopters. According to the study, “81% of security system owners find at least one safety-related AI-powered benefit valuable.”
This could align closely with ideas about using AI on edge devices for troubleshooting and installation of routers, IoT devices, or anything a consumer is trying to set up.
Those ideas are still in the proof-of-concept stage, but Parks Associates is encouraging service providers and security brands to work together.
“Companies with AI tools and smart home solutions will benefit from sharing strategies across teams on how to best connect their solution with these unique user groups to drive engagement and early adoption,” the authors said in a press release about the survey.
