More than a quarter of UK adults have used generative artificial intelligence, including chatbots, according to research from Deloitte.

The survey of 4,150 UK adults found that just over half of the population had heard of generative AI, with around one in 10 respondents – the equivalent of approximately four million people – using it for work.

Commenting on the findings, Sjuul van der Leeuw, CEO of Deployteq said: “These figures underline the fact that generative AI is already playing a crucial role in our daily lives and this trend is set to continue indefinitely. From transforming public services, shaking up traditional business models and turbocharging the creative industries, it will continue to have a major impact on our economic growth.

“However, it’s vital that nobody is left behind, and this means having the right training and governance policies in place so that this technology can be used responsibly."

ChatGPT is probably the most popular tool. Microsoft’s Bing chatbot is based on the same system. Google has Bard, and Claude 2 was launched this week by US firm Anthropic.

Image generators have also taken off, exemplified by a realistic-looking picture of Pope Francis in a puffer jacket, produced by US startup, Midjourney.

However, the ability of such systems to mass produce convincing text, image and even voice at scale has led to warnings that they could become tools for creating large-scale disinformation campaigns.

The Deloitte survey found that of those who had used generative AI, more than four out of 10 believe it always produces factually correct answers. One of the biggest flaws in generative AI systems so far is that they are prone to producing factual errors.

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