48% of Americans think you should speak politely to AI

Does AI deserve to be spoken to politely? Forty-eight percent of Americans think so and Gen Z are the nicest to robots.

And manners may count for something because four in 10 Americans (39%) think one day our past behavior towards AI, Alexa, Siri and all things robot will be taken into account somehow.

Our survey examining the communication styles and approaches when using artificial technology, automated services and chatbots found nearly half adopt a polite manner and think it’s appropriate to say please and thank you.

Twenty-five percent of the 2,000 respondents say they’re not polite but more functional when talking to a robot of some kind—they ask and expect answers but won’t add a please or thanks typically.

Wooden robot seated with a printed red heart on its chest

AMERICA’S AI APPROACH

I’m polite—I say hello, please and thank you and ask things nicely in general: 44%

I’m not polite but I’m to the point—I ask and expect an answer: 25%

I’m sometimes impolite—I’ll swear or be abrupt with AI: 7%

None of the above: 24%

Our survey found just 7% described their approach to chatbots and automated encounters as sometimes ‘impolite’—admitting to swearing or being abrupt in manner.

Interestingly, younger generations are much more likely to be polite when interacting with AI:

More than half of Gen Z say this is their default style (56%).
Politeness declines to 52 percent of millennials, 44% of Gen X and just 39% of boomers who say they’re polite in their own usage of AI.

When those who do use manners for AI and similar services were asked why they were most likely to say, “it’s just my way” (68%).

A compassionate 29% of self-described polite users say they feel everyone deserves to be treated with manners whether human or not.

When respondents were asked if they felt that AI deserved to be spoken to politely, 48% said it does.
And 27% take a different approach, agreeing with the statement: “It’s ok to be rude or shout at things like Alexa/AI, they have no feelings”.

Although men and women both similarly agree that AI deserves manners (49% and 47%), men are much more likely to feel it’s ok to be rude or swear at AI (34% men v 20% women).

Survey methodology

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 Americans. The survey was commissioned by Talker News and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between June 21 and June 24, 2024.

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:

Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:

Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.

Photography credit: featured image by Ochir-Erdene Oyunmedeg