Data Scientist - Bera

Study: 81% of Americans would let an AI agent handle part of their job search. Monday, August 10th, 2026 Artificial intelligence has become a mainstream source of career and financial advice for American workers, according to a national survey of 2,131 U.S. adults conducted by The Harris Poll in collaboration with Ruth AI, the AI career strategist built for women. The full study, The Trust Gap, is available at https://ruthapp.ai/research and has already drawn coverage from Fast Company. Nearly half of Americans (45%) have used an AI platform such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini for career or work-related advice. That rises to 66% of Millennials and 63% of Gen Z. One in three U.S. adults has used AI for advice about money at work, including salary, raises, bonuses, or negotiating pay. Americans are also increasingly willing to let AI act on their behalf. Eighty-one percent would be comfortable having an AI agent handle at least one part of a job search, climbing to 90% of Millennials. A majority would let AI search for jobs (67%), conduct pre-interview research (67%), update their resume (65%), or apply for jobs outright (55%). Nearly half would let AI negotiate their benefits (49%) or salary (47%). Yet awareness of the technology's documented limitations remains low. Three in four Americans (76%) had never heard that independent research has found AI can produce biased career and salary guidance. Seventy-two percent agree that AI can sound confident even when its advice turns out to be wrong. "Americans are handing AI some of the most consequential decisions of their working lives, from the job search to the salary ask, while most have never heard that the guidance can carry bias," said Valerie Chapman, founder and CEO of Ruth AI. "We are delegating faster than we are asking questions. The responsibility now falls on the people building AI to earn the trust users are already giving it."

81% of Americans would let an AI agent handle part of their job search. SAN FRANCISCO - A vast majority of American workers are ready to turn over the keys of their job search to artificial intelligence, even as most remain unaware that AI career tools can deliver biased advice, according to a national survey released Thursday. The study, conducted by The Harris Poll in collaboration with career platform Ruth AI, found that 81% of U.S. adults would feel comfortable letting an AI agent manage at least one component of their job search. Among Millennials, that figure jumps to 90%. Hands-Off job hunting. As AI tools rapidly transition from simple chatbots to autonomous agents, workers are increasingly willing to delegate critical steps in their career advancement: * Searching for openings: 67% * Pre-interview research: 67% * Updating resumes: 65% * Submitting job applications: 55% * Negotiating benefits: 49% * Negotiating salary: 47% Overall, nearly half of Americans (45%) report having used AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini for work-related or career guidance - a trend driven largely by younger generations, including 66% of Millennials and 63% of Gen Z respondents. Additionally, one in three adults has turned to AI for advice regarding workplace finances, including raises, bonuses, and salary negotiation strategies. The trust gap: high confidence, low awareness. Despite high adoption rates, the study highlighted a glaring knowledge gap regarding the software's reliability. Three out of four Americans (76%) had never heard that academic research has shown AI systems can produce biased salary and career recommendations. At the same time, 72% acknowledged that AI models frequently sound confident even when their advice is factually incorrect. "Americans are handing AI some of the most consequential decisions of their working lives, from the job search to the salary ask, while most have never heard that the guidance can carry bias," said Valerie Chapman, founder and CEO of Ruth AI. "We are delegating faster than we are asking questions. The responsibility now falls on the people building AI to earn the trust users are already giving it." Survey methodology. The Harris Poll surveyed 2,131 U.S. adults online between June 11 and June 13, 2026. The representative sample included 420 Gen Z adults, 620 Millennials, 519 Gen X adults, and 572 Baby Boomers, weighted to match general population demographics.

What The Harris Poll, LLC. learned at Cannes Lions 2026. Article. The hottest June on record, 13,000 people from more than 90 countries, one Croisette, and five days that told The Harris Poll, LLC. what brands should focus on next. July 13, 2026 Key takeaways. * Saying "AI" can cost you the sale. 78% of consumers say AI makes ads feel less authentic, and 63% are less likely to buy from brands that lean on it. Lead with substance, not the buzzword. * Sport is infrastructure, not sponsorship. Fandom now runs from the stadium to the second screen to the checkout. The brands treating it as one continuous relationship will own the next cycle. * In-person still earns the trust digital can't buy. 71% of consumers say physical experiences deepen their connection to a brand. Showing up face to face is still where business moves. * A clear point of view is the scarce asset. When anyone can generate a campaign in minutes, conviction is the differentiator. Brands that knew who they were left Cannes with more ways to say it. Cannes Lions has become the place the marketing world goes to seek clarity. The 2026 edition drew record crowds, but the mix had shifted. Tech firms and C-suites filled the beaches. Creators arrived in force, over 500 of them, up sharply on last year. The Harris Poll was on the ground all week as part of Stagwell's SPORT BEACH, in meetings, on panels, and on stage. Here's what The Harris Poll, LLC. heard, and what it means for your brand. Consumers are tired of being told everything is AI. The loudest story at Cannes came from its own research. The Harris Poll, LLC. released "I Never Asked for This" with the 4As and Infillion, and the numbers landed hard. More than two-thirds of consumers see AI as a marketing ploy. 78% say it makes ads feel less authentic. The same share find brands cringey when they over-use it. 73% would be less likely to trust an ad they suspected was AI-made. 63% would be less likely to buy. Jennifer Musil presented the work alongside 4As CEO Justin Thomas-Copeland. The message for brands is simple. Stamping "AI-powered" on your marketing signals nothing, and it may cost you. The upside cuts the other way too. Consumers who feel skeptical of AI aren't a lost cause. They're a trust opportunity. The brands that earn their confidence, by being transparent about where AI ends and human judgment begins, stand to win a group everyone else is writing off. The industry moved past AI hype to AI discipline. A year ago, AI was the future tense at Cannes. This year it was operational. Agency leaders talked about workflows, not predictions. The harder conversation was about quality. "AI slop" circled every panel. Cannes Lions CEO Simon Cook warned from the main stage about mediocrity at scale. Entries dropped 25% after tougher rules tied every submission to a named CEO and CMO. There's a gap worth naming here. Marketers have adopted AI fast. Redesigning how they work around it has lagged well behind. Most teams are using the tool more often without changing how the work gets done. That gap matches what The Harris Poll, LLC. see in its data. When anyone can generate a campaign in minutes, original thinking becomes the scarce asset. AI can amplify a clear point of view. It cannot manufacture one. Sport became the cultural center of gravity. With the World Cup underway, sport ran through everything. SPORT BEACH drew some of the heaviest foot traffic on the Croisette, with A-Rod, Russell Wilson, Shaquille O'Neal, Lindsey Vonn, and the NBA Championship trophy all on site. The appetite is real and measurable. Almost half of Americans (45%) say their interest in soccer is rising. 70% of soccer fans are excited about a World Cup on home soil. The conversation has outgrown sponsorship. Fans don't follow brands, they follow people. The fan journey now runs well past the final whistle, into streaming, second screens, commerce, and creator partnerships. Creators earned a seat at the strategy table. Creators dominated the attention at Cannes this year, not just the AI panels. Every major platform is now competing for them directly, offering support to help creators build businesses inside the channels they already own, rather than pulling them onto a network schedule. The shift that matters for brands is the role creators are being given, not just their volume. The winners are building the plan around the creator relationship from the start, treating them as partners rather than vendors. In-person became the new proof point. The Croisette made the case for tactility all week. Scent bars, diner builds, photo booths, and drone shows were everywhere. It wasn't nostalgia. This tracks with its Return of Touch research. 81% of Gen Z wish they could disconnect more easily. 71% of consumers say in-store experiences deepen their emotional connection to a brand. Physical presence still earns trust that digital alone struggles to buy. A clear point of view is the scarce asset. Pull these threads together and one theme sits underneath all of them. The brands that stood out at Cannes were the clearest about who they are, regardless of how loudly they talked about their technology. That showed up as a renewed focus on brand building over one-off stunts, on creator partnerships built for the long term, and on physical moments that said something a banner ad couldn't. Conviction, more than any single tactic, was what separated the work people remembered from the work that just filled a slot. About the research. This piece draws on two Harris Poll studies. "I Never Asked for This" was conducted in partnership with the 4As and Infillion, and explores how consumers respond to AI in advertising. Its Return of Touch research examines how in-person and physical experiences shape consumer trust and brand connection. For full methodology, contact its research team.