In AI We Trust? How Americans’ Trust In AI Compares To Trust In News, Family, And More

The question that’s troubled philosophers for ages was finally asked by TD Bank.

Do people trust their friends and families more than AI?

And while the answer to that one probably isn’t a shocker — 90% trust those folks either a great deal or somewhat, compared to just 62% who have that much trust in AI — the breakdowns of that trust and other answers found within TD Bank’s 2026 AI Insights Report are still interesting.

(Photo Source: TD Bank)

“In 2026, 62% of Americans said they trust AI to provide honest and reliable information, up from roughly half in 2025,” says the report. “The share of respondents who said they trust AI ‘a great deal’ nearly doubled between 2025 (8%) and 2026 (15%).”

AI’s 62% wasn’t as high as friends and families, one’s bank (85%), or healthcare apps and telehealth platforms (78%), but it was higher than news (58%) and social media influencers (37%). According to TD Bank’s research, 14% trust the news “a great deal” (slightly less than AI’s 15%) and 12% don’t trust the news at all (also slightly less than AI’s 13%).

“Consumers are increasingly comfortable letting AI take the lead in low-stakes, everyday decisions such as entertainment recommendations, meal planning, fitness routines and learning where the cost of error is low,” the report says. “That comfort doesn’t automatically transfer to more consequential decisions. Confidence develops first where risk is limited and increases only when guardrails are visible.”