Results from the 2026 Nebraska Rural Poll show that the number of Nebraskans who have used generative AI tools has more than doubled in just the past two years, from 27% in 2024 to 55% this year.
Heather Akin, associate professor of strategic communication at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said this increase is in line with national trends.
“We’re seeing just a rapid uptake of those tools over the last year or so, I think in general across the country,” she said.
A 2025 survey from YouGov found that 56% of American adults use AI tools.
Akin said the poll findings were likely
Akin said the poll findings were likely a “conservative estimate” of AI use in rural Nebraska because the average age of respondents was about 51.
Among respondents ages 50-64, 51% indicated that they had ever used AI tools. That’s compared to about 75% of respondents aged 19-39.
Akin also said that some respondents may have unknowingly used AI, leading them to respond inaccurately. She pointed to the Google Gemini “AI Overview” results that accompany every Google search as an example.
I’m not sure whether people always know
“I’m not sure whether people always know that they’re using generative AI in their searches, but in fact it’s running in the background,” she said.
The poll found that women were more likely than men to use AI chatbots, although the report did not indicate how large the AI usage gap between men and women was.
Akin said that while she can only speculate as to why women are more likely to use chatbots than men, a June 2026 study from Pew Research Center found the nationwide “gender gap” in chatbot use closed between 2024 and 2026.
Forty-seven percent of women reported having ever used
Forty-seven percent of women reported having ever used chatbots in 2026, up from 28% in 2024. Meanwhile, men’s chatbot use increased less sharply, from 39% in 2024 to 50% in 2026.
Akin said the closing gender gap could explain why more women than men use chatbots in rural Nebraska.
Akin said AI tools can help people find information in areas where access to medical and legal advice is limited. However, she said this can become harmful when chatbots give out inaccurate information.
A little more than one-third of poll respondents
A little more than one-third of poll respondents said they were somewhat or extremely interested in learning how to evaluate response accuracy from generative AI.
“Of course, we want to be really cautious and conscious of the accuracy of the information that people get,” Akin said.
The poll results indicated that rural Nebraskans’ biggest concern about AI is privacy, with 45% of respondents saying they were somewhat or extremely interested in learning how to protect their privacy when using AI.
We’re hearing a lot of very valid concerns
“We’re hearing a lot of very valid concerns about it,” Akin said. “I think we’re going to hit a point where, as a society, we kind of have to negotiate how much we’re willing to accept this technology being used.”
Nebraska Extension and Rural Prosperity Nebraska mailed questionnaires to nearly 6,900 Nebraska households in April and May 2026. The poll captured 881 responses from 86 of Nebraska’s 93 counties. Cass, Douglas, Lancaster, Sarpy, Saunders, Seward and Washington counties were not surveyed.
