Better AI Prompts Turn Consumer Experiments Into Habits
Generative artificial intelligence is becoming a more useful tool for consumers not just because the technology is improving, but also because consumers are getting better at using it.
The PYMNTS Intelligence report “From First Prompt to Daily Habit: The Data Behind Rising Gen AI Reliance,” the July edition of the Consumer AI Benchmark Report, found that stronger results and time savings are encouraging people to return more often, while growing user skills are helping turn occasional AI experiments into regular habits.
Among consumers who already use gen AI, between 58% and 69% said they use it more often now than when they first started, depending on the task, according to the report. The pattern suggested a reinforcing cycle. Better tools produce better results, users learn how to give those tools better instructions, and the combination makes AI useful for a wider range of activities.
Key findings from the report:
- Generative AI has saved time for 55% of personal users who have increased their use, and it was the most frequently cited reason for increased personal use.
- Improved AI skills contributed to increased use for 41% of personal users. More broadly, 51% said their generative AI skills are higher now than when they started.
- The share of consumers who use generative AI for learning and self-improvement and said they use it more now than when they began was 69%, more than any other use case surveyed.
The report also showed that the increase in usage is spreading across the consumer task map rather than concentrating in one area. Learning and writing had the highest share of frequent users, with roughly 47% of learning users and 45% of writing users saying they use generative AI often. These tasks lend themselves particularly well to repeated AI use because consumers can see the benefit quickly. A user can ask AI to explain a difficult concept, summarize information, suggest an outline or help refine a piece of writing, then return to the tool for a related task. That repeated interaction can make AI feel less like a one-time experiment and more like a familiar part of the process.
Meanwhile, power users advanced faster than lighter users. According to the report, 61% of personal power users said they rely on generative AI more than when they started, compared with 32% of mainstream users and 19% of light users. Their heavier use gives them more opportunities to learn which prompts, tools and approaches produce useful results, creating a cycle in which greater familiarity leads to more effective use and, in turn, more reasons to keep using AI.
Consumers also perceive meaningful improvements in the technology itself. Among personal users, ease of use, speed, accuracy and the range of tasks AI can handle have all improved, according to the report. Privacy and safety showed weaker progress, with 39% of personal users saying those areas have improved.
As AI becomes easier to use and consumers become more capable of directing it, the technology is moving from a novelty into a tool that can support practical parts of everyday life.
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