MOSCOW, October 11. /TASS/. One in two Russian Internet users has used AI over the past year, with the most active users addressing not only informational needs, but emotional ones as well, the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) said in releasing the results of the corresponding poll.

The survey interviewed 1,600 adult residents of Russia on September 13-16.

According to the poll results, 51% of Russian respondents have used AI at least once in the past year, primarily for information searches (63%). The top five popular AIs used by Russians are ChatGPT (27%), YandexGPT (23%), DeepSeek (20%), GigaChat (15%), and Shedevrum (11%).

Young people are the most active users of AI: 81% of Russians over 34 who were polled admitted to using AI, whereas 41% of Russians under 35 reported utilizing it. According to respondents, AI is most valuable for working with information (63%), generating content (38%), and processing data (36%).

The poll results showed that about 35% of Russians use AI regularly. Another 37% used it occasionally, and 28% had only recently started doing so. Among the youth, nearly half (48%) used AI at least once a week, while older generations used it less frequently.

The poll results also indicated that the role of AI is often bigger than planned. Fourteen percent of users addressed AI for communication and emotional support. A total of 24% of respondents regarded AI as a "compassionate interlocutor," mostly residents of large towns (22%).