Winning AI’s Future Means Bridging Generational Trust

By now, generative artificial intelligence has permeated most corners of the digital world.

Text- and image-producing algorithms like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude can handle job applications, recipe creation, business presentations, bedtime stories and more.

However, neither innovation nor its embrace by consumers is turning out to be one-size-fits-all. If you ask a 23-year-old graphic designer in Austin and a 65-year-old retired accountant in Omaha what they think about generative AI, you’ll likely get different answers. Not just in tone, but in adoption, trust and perceived value.

PYMNTS Intelligence’s July Generational Pulse Report, “Generation AI: Why Gen Z Bets Big and Boomers Hold Back,” found that 57% of adults in the United States, or roughly 149 million consumers, reported using generative AI in some form. However, the demographic breakdown revealed that young consumers are powering this wave, while older ones remain on the sidelines.

This discrepancy in use, trust and value perception is not just about age. It’s also a window into how the future of AI may be adopted, regulated and monetized.

The Rise of AI-Native Digital Generations

Zillennials (ages 26-34) and Generation Z (ages 28 and younger) are at the vanguard of the AI revolution. The study found that 66% of them use generative AI tools for personal and professional tasks.

Nearly 63% of Gen Z consumers said they are very or extremely familiar with generative AI platforms, more than any other generation.

While Gen Z may be the most enthusiastic, millennials (ages 29-44) are arguably the most pragmatic. The report found that 52% of millennials use generative AI for work, higher than any other age cohort.

Their adoption is heavily tied to productivity gains. Tasks like synthesizing meeting notes, writing emails, building marketing drafts and researching investment trends have become faster and more scalable.

Read the report: Generation AI: Why Gen Z Bets Big and Boomers Hold Back

The contrast could not be more striking with baby boomers (ages 61 and older). The report found that 73% of boomers reported they did not use generative AI for any purpose, followed by Generation X (ages 45-60) at 44%.

Why the hesitancy?

For starters, trust. The same boomers who witnessed the dawn of the internet and the rise of email scams are now encountering AI’s murkier terrain of deepfakes, hallucinated facts and synthetic voices. For many, that feels like a step too far.

While more than 60% of users reported being satisfied with their AI experiences, 33% of users said they worry about how AI could negatively affect jobs.

The younger the user, the greater the fear of job displacement. The report found that 38% of Gen Z, many of whom are entering competitive labor markets, are aware of how AI might automate away internships, entry-level roles or creative gigs. That’s the most of any generation.

Older consumers, meanwhile, worry about deception — being misled by AI-generated content, manipulated by synthetic media, or simply unable to discern real from fake. The report found that 38% of baby boomers who do not use generative AI are concerned about their personal information being shared or misused, and 32% are uncertain about where the information that generative AI platforms provide is coming from.

For businesses, this means that winning the AI future will require more than superior models and faster chips. It may require building cross-generational trust and meeting people where they are, not just where the tech is going.