PHILADELPHIA, PA — Social media is the most widely used source of election information among registered U.S. voters but carries substantially less trust, while AI chatbots and government websites show the opposite pattern heading into the 2026 midterms, according to a Qlik-commissioned survey of 2,000 voters.
The Censuswide survey found 48% of respondents use social media for election information, the highest share among the channels measured. Just 23% identified it as a trusted source, creating a 25-percentage-point gap between use and trust.
AI chatbots remain a much smaller source of political information. Eleven percent of voters reported using tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Copilot for election information, while 13% identified AI chatbots among their trusted sources.
Official government election websites showed a similar imbalance: 8% reported using them, while 16% identified them as sources they would trust most.
The findings suggest voter reliance and confidence are diverging as Americans navigate a growing number of information channels ahead of the midterm elections. Thirty-six percent reported feeling overwhelmed by the volume of election information they encounter.
Verification remains a significant part of how voters approach AI-generated political information. Thirty-nine percent would trust an AI explanation of a candidate or ballot measure but check it against another source, while 14% would accept the explanation without additional verification.
Fact-checking was the most frequently cited potential political use of AI, with 43% interested in using the technology to determine whether a candidate’s claim is true or misleading. Thirty-seven percent cited comparing candidates’ policy positions and 32% cited summarizing complex political issues.
Generational differences were pronounced. Twenty percent of Gen Z respondents would trust an AI explanation of election information without checking another source, compared with 4% of Baby Boomers.
Gen Z also reported the highest level of information overload, at 43%.
Political use of AI continues to trail workplace adoption. Sixty-eight percent of respondents reported regularly using AI tools at work to find information or complete tasks, while 48% had used AI to learn about a political issue, candidate or election.
The survey also found a gender divide in adoption. Fifty-five percent of men had used AI to research a candidate, issue or election, compared with 39% of women.
Thirty-eight percent of women reported that they would never use AI for that purpose, versus 24% of men. Women were also more likely to reject AI as a source of election information, at 20% compared with 14% of men.
“Voters are getting buried in information, but not necessarily in trust,” Qlik Chief Strategy Officer James Fisher said. “The channels people rely on most aren’t the ones they believe most.”
Censuswide conducted the research for Qlik among 2,000 registered U.S. voters ages 18 and older from Sept. 11 through Sept. 15, 2026.
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