BOSTON — The rapid adoption phase of conversational artificial intelligence appears to be leveling off, with future growth driven less by new users and more by deeper reliance among existing ones, according to a new report from PYMNTS Intelligence.
The February 2026 “Agentic AI Report” by PYMNTS found that 49% of U.S. adults had used a conversational AI assistant as of December, but overall adoption has begun to stabilize. The findings are based on a U.S. Census-balanced survey of 2,439 adults conducted between Dec. 9, 2025, and Jan. 5, 2026.
Rather than expanding primarily through new-user acquisition, AI usage is increasingly being fueled by existing users integrating the technology into everyday activities such as shopping research, task management and financial decision-making, the report said.
Adoption plateaus across demographics
Between October and December, usage rates remained largely flat across demographic groups, suggesting adoption has reached roughly half of U.S. adults and may face resistance from consumers who remain skeptical or uninterested in the technology.
The report identified several user segments:
- Power users — defined as those performing 27 or more AI-driven tasks per month — account for 10% of all consumers and 19% of millennials.
- Mainstream users make up 27% of consumers.
- Light users represent about 10%.
- Holdouts, who have not used AI and cite specific reasons for avoiding it, still comprise 53% of the population, including 72% of baby boomers.
Engagement, not frequency, marks shift
The distinction among groups is driven not only by how often they use AI, but by the variety of tasks they perform. Light users average roughly two activities per month, while mainstream users complete about eight.
Power users, meanwhile, are expanding their reliance on AI tools. Their average number of monthly AI-driven activities rose from 25 in September to 27 by December, indicating a gradual embedding of AI into routine workflows rather than episodic use.
The findings suggest the conversational AI market is entering a phase of structural integration, where sustained engagement among established users — rather than rapid onboarding of new ones — will shape the technology’s next stage of growth.
