# 路透研究所报告：AI聊天机器人新闻使用率升至10%，但信任度仍低

- 来源：The Decoder：AI News（RSS）
- 作者：Matthias Bastian
- 发布时间：2026-06-19 22:42
- AIHOT 分数：64
- AIHOT 链接：https://aihot.virxact.com/items/cmql1t6jf00dqsllu24lt8vo6
- 原文链接：https://the-decoder.com/more-people-get-news-from-ai-chatbots-but-trust-remains-low

## AI 摘要

路透研究所2026年数字新闻报告显示，全球每周用AI聊天机器人获取新闻的比例从7%升至10%，仅1%将其视为主要来源。44%活跃用户信任AI生成的新闻，但仅4%经常点击原始来源。用户主要用途为追问（42%）、获取当前新闻（35%）和摘要（34%）。18-24岁年龄段使用率达17%，自称“新闻爱好者”的用户达18%。报告指出，聊天机器人存在强化已有偏见和分裂公共话语的风险，但也能简化复杂话题、翻译内容并提供多源整合，拓宽用户视角。

## 正文

More people get news from AI chatbots, but trust remains low

Matthias Bastian View the LinkedIn Profile of Matthias Bastian

Jun 19, 2026

Nano Banana Pro prompted by THE DECODER

Key Points

Global use of AI chatbots for news has risen from 7 to 10 percent, according to the Reuters Institute's Digital News Report 2026.

While 44 percent of active users trust AI-generated news, only 4 percent regularly click through to original sources.

Chatbots risk reinforcing users' existing beliefs and splintering public discourse through hyper-personalized content, but they can also make complex topics more accessible and expose people to a wider range of perspectives.

The Reuters Institute's Digital News Report 2026 finds that weekly use of AI chatbots for news has climbed from 7 to 10 percent globally.

AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini are playing a bigger, though still small, role in how people get their news. That's the takeaway from the Reuters Institute's Digital News Report 2026. Weekly chatbot use for news rose from 7 to 10 percent worldwide. Just 1 percent of respondents call AI chatbots their main news source. The growth is mostly coming from markets in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Southern and Eastern Europe.

Young, news-hungry users are leading the charge

Chatbot news use skews young and engaged, according to the study. Among 18- to 24-year-olds, 17 percent use chatbots for news, compared to just 5 percent in the oldest age group. The 25-to-34 bracket saw the strongest relative growth, jumping 4 percentage points.

Usage among self-described "news lovers" hits 18 percent, well above the 7 percent among casual consumers. People with extreme political views also use AI chatbots for news more often: 16 percent on the far left and 15 percent on the far right. Researcher Dr. Amy Ross Arguedas says these groups simply tend to be more interested in news.

Younger demographics and heavy news consumers use AI chatbots most. According to the Digital News Report, 17 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds already use them weekly for news. | Image: Reuters Institute

Across the 45 markets surveyed, asking follow-up questions is the top use case at 42 percent. That's followed by getting current news (35 percent), summaries (34 percent), checking the reliability of news sources (33 percent), and simplifying news (30 percent).

In markets with low press freedom scores, like Hong Kong and Turkey, and in markets where trust in news is low, like Hungary and Romania, using chatbots to check source reliability ranks especially high. Globally, 42 percent of users say they want more depth or explanation. Another 39 percent say AI is faster than other ways of getting news.

More use, more trust, but the baseline is still low

Only 37 percent of respondents trust most news. Trust in news from AI chatbots sits at just 20 percent among the general population. But the picture shifts among actual users: 44 percent of chatbot users trust AI-generated news, compared to only 17 percent of non-users, according to the report.

Markets where people trust AI chatbot news more also tend to use chatbots for news more often. | Image: Reuters Institute

At the market level, the data shows a strong link between trust and usage; much stronger than on social media. The study attributes this to the fact that using chatbots for news is a more deliberate choice than the often passive way people stumble across news on social media.

Almost nobody clicks through to original sources

Across all respondents in 27 markets, only 4 percent say they always or often click from AI chatbots to original sources. For search engines, that number is 19 percent. For social media, 17 percent. The gap partly reflects chatbots' much smaller user base for news, and, of course, how the system works. If I get an answer insteado of an link, of course I have less incentive to click and this shows in the data.

When AI chatbot users do click through, they're far more likely to do so to verify facts (44%) or check the source (43%) than search engine or social media users. | Image: Reuters Institute

This confirms earlier studies and puts Google's defense of its AI Overviews into perspective. In a legal dispute, the company argues that people can simply verify the source of false AI-generated claims, just like they do with traditional search. They could. But they don't. And the cited sources don't always match the answer anyway.

When chatbot users do click, they're less likely to seek more detail (51 percent) than search engine users (59 percent) or social media users (60 percent). Instead, they're more likely to click to verify information or learn more about the source.

The study's recommendation for publishers: don't try to compete with AI platforms on their own turf. Focus on what chatbots can't deliver - original reporting and journalistic credibility.

Confirmation bias and a splintering public sphere

Chatbots can misrepresent source material. That's a well-known risk. But two other dangers may be bigger.

The first is sycophancy. AI chatbots tend to confirm what users already believe rather than push back. Ask a news question with a preconceived opinion, and you'll likely get an answer that supports it. The fact that usage runs above average among people on the political fringes makes this especially dangerous. Chatbots could deepen polarization rather than counter it.

The second risk is further fragmentation of public discourse. The highly personalized way chatbots present news accelerates a trend social media already started. When every user gets a version of the news tailored to their interests, reading level, and preferences, the shared information base that public debate depends on erodes.

Personalization could also broaden perspectives

At the same time, chatbot personalization has an upside. It can make news more accessible to people who don't connect with traditional formats by simplifying complex topics, translating content into a user's preferred language (33 percent of users do this, according to the study), or adapting to individual information needs.

Used well, AI chatbots could even expose people to a wider range of viewpoints. The study found that 35 percent of users say they use chatbots to pull together reports from multiple media sources. Those who actively seek out different perspectives can potentially get a broader picture than they would from any single news outlet.