“Chicago Sun-Times Prints AI-Generated Summer Reading List With Books That Don’t Exist” read the headline. I knew that by now, three and a half years after ChatGPT had been released, AI had permeated most aspects of our lives including the workplace, but I was stunned to see it so blatantly outed for the world to see. The article exposed a writer who had published a summer reading guide where only five of the 15 recommended books were real! He admitted to using AI to help him write the article and didn’t fact check it before publishing it. Seeing a major newspaper getting caught using AI this carelessly was shocking.
There’s no doubt that AI use is now commonplace. Many of us tend to think of AI as viral videos, cute bunnies bouncing on trampolines, or questionable images floating around social media, but AI has gone beyond that. If people at a major newspaper are using it, you know the general public is, too. Just how common is AI use? The numbers are eye-opening. Let’s take a look at who’s using AI, what they’re using it for, and which tools they’re choosing.
What the Research Shows About AI Use
A recent Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll shows that more than half of adults in the U.S. have used AI—for everything from searching for information to searching for companionship:
That last one, companionship, continues to grow, and I see it evolving into something deeper. I recently met up with an old friend, and as she was catching me up on her life, she shared something that stayed with me. The person she’s currently seeing sent her an image of an Aztec warrior princess with the words ‘Strong Woman.’ I thought it was sweet that that’s how he sees her, but what really struck me was that he used an AI image-generator to express it. People aren’t just using AI for work or creative projects. They’re using it to express feelings, connect with others, and even seek advice.
This is especially true for younger users. Not surprisingly, teens use AI even more than adults. According to a study released in October of this year by the Center for Democracy & Technology, teens are using AI primarily for help with academics and for personal advice:
Source: Center for Technology & Democracy
It’s clear that AI is no longer just a tool for making viral content; it’s becoming part of everyday decisions and interactions.
Not All Chatbots are Created Equal
The latest statistics on AI chatbot use estimate that over 987 million people worldwide use chatbots. And while there are thousands of chatbots available, five are used far more than the rest. Ranked by popularity, the list includes ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity AI, Claude AI, and Microsoft Copilot, but ChatGPT is king. The chart below shows monthly visits and as you can see, it leads by a wide margin:
When it comes to overall performance and capability, most credible sources consistently rank ChatGPT, Claude, and Google Gemini as the top three. And although most chatbots are fairly similar, some are better at certain tasks than others. For instance, Claude comes out on top for working with writing and coding, Perplexity is widely recognized as the best tool for research, meanwhile the competition for the best image generator continues to heat up among Google’s Nano Banana, Midjourney, and ChatGPT.
Zapier provides a helpful breakdown of each chatbot’s strengths and weaknesses that is consistent with other credible sources:
For a detailed description of each chatbot’s strengths and weaknesses read the full article here.
AI in the Workforce: What Employers Expect with AI
You’ve probably heard the concern that AI will replace people and take away jobs. It is a legitimate worry. There are some companies replacing workers with AI to cut costs, from customer service to software development to administrative roles, but what I keep encountering more often is that people who know how to use AI are going to replace people who don’t use AI.
So what are employers expecting workers to use AI for? Across many industries, AI tools are now commonly used to support everyday work tasks including:
- Research and writing, such as drafting emails, reports, newsletters, and proposals
- Summarizing reports and documents
- Writing proposals and generating interview questions for clients and potential employees
- Process complex legal or technical information more efficiently
- Providing coding assistance and technical support
- Offering ideas for tackling challenges and confirming next steps
- Writing job descriptions and generating interview questions
- Creating written and visual marketing materials
- Analyzing and visualizing data
When AI tools can handle this many tasks, it’s clear why people who know how to use AI effectively have an advantage over those who don’t.
What This Means for Libraries and Patrons
AI tools are everywhere now, at school, at work, and at home. And people are using them often without stopping to check if the information is accurate or reliable. Looking at all this together, it’s easy to understand how the Chicago Sun-Times blunder could happen. The issue is not that AI is being used. It’s that it’s not being used with enough care.
Moving beyond the fake bunnies and viral moments, we’re now seeing that AI is being used in more serious and meaningful ways that impact everyday life. That’s why digital literacy, knowing how to find, use, and evaluate information and resources, is so important right now. It’s also why libraries and librarians are so essential: we can help people navigate this new tech landscape properly and responsibly.
Questions? Let’s connect! Have a tool to share? Send it my way and I’ll spotlight staff picks! etdominguez@tsl.texas.gov
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