Data shows weekly AI use among Americans has reached 50%, but many brands in the space are struggling to build awareness and trust with a still-skeptical public. Their best bet for both, per new research, might just be over-the-air radio and podcasts.
The data comes from a joint study by Cumulus Media/Westwood One’s Audio Active Group and Oxford Road.
The average American remains far more cautious about AI than the marketers selling it. Just 20% of the general public called themselves excited about the technology, compared to 54% of brands and media agencies surveyed.
Audio emerged as a strong indicator of AI engagement. Those streaming traditional radio stations online and past-month SiriusXM listeners were the most likely media consumers to say they’re very interested in AI, at 34% each, followed by streaming audio listeners with ads at 30% and podcast listeners at 29%.
Heavy audio listeners also use AI more often day-to-day. Among heavy podcast listeners, 47% use AI multiple times a day in their personal lives, compared to 25% of the total population, while heavy AM/FM and streaming-with-ads listeners each reported 37% to 38% daily use.
Familiarity translates into daily use, too. Among past-month audio listeners, 63% use AI to answer questions and 44% use it to research topics of interest, both higher than the shares reported by TV watchers, social media users, or general internet consumers on the same measures.
Sports audio listeners over-index even further. Adults who frequently listen to sports radio or podcasts are roughly twice as likely as the general population to say they’re extremely or very familiar with AI, and to use it daily in both their personal lives and at work. Willingness to pay follows the same pattern. While 24% of AM/FM listeners overall say they’d pay for AI products, that share jumps to 53% among adults who frequently listen to sports on AM/FM radio and 57% among frequent sports podcast listeners.
A separate study from Iris Flex, the audience intelligence firm founded by former Audacy research executive Idil Cakim, found that podcast audiences are more comfortable than the US average letting AI help scientists conduct research (44% versus 34%), check them into a flight (43% versus 35%), or provide job training (42% versus 27%).
