• Half of 16- to 29-year-olds would rather talk to an AI than to friends and family about certain topics
• 27 per cent believe AI assistants can help combat loneliness

Advice from Siri, comfort from Alexa or a sympathetic ear from Google Assistant – advances in artificial intelligence are driving the development of voice assistants. They are becoming more context-sensitive, adaptive and personal. Always available, they create closeness and can even form emotional bonds. As a result, 39 per cent of the population can imagine asking an AI voice assistant for advice on certain topics rather than friends or family. Among young adults between the ages of 16 and 29, this figure is as high as 51 per cent. In the 65+ age group, approval is lowest at 29 per cent. These are the results of a survey of 1,209 people in Germany aged 16 and over commissioned by the digital association Bitkom.

Good advice can also create a feeling of connection: a total of 18 per cent of Germans can even imagine forming a friendly connection with an AI voice assistant. Openness to an AI friendship is highest among 30- to 49-year-olds at 24 per cent and lowest among 50- to 64-year-olds at only 11 per cent. Among 16- to 29-year-olds, the figure is 21 per cent, and among those aged 65 and over, it is 15 per cent. Men are slightly more open to friendship with an AI assistant (20 per cent) than women (16 per cent).

“Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence, voice assistants are evolving into personal companions. They understand us better, respond more individually and can even create a feeling of closeness and connection, especially through human language. Nevertheless, although they can provide additional advice and food for thought, they cannot, of course, replace real friendships,” says Dr Sebastian Klöß, consumer technology expert at Bitkom. Twenty-seven percent of respondents believe that AI assistants could help people feel less lonely in the future. Here, too, approval is highest in the youngest age group (34 per cent) and lowest among the over-65s (24 per cent).

Note on methodology: The information is based on a survey conducted by Bitkom Research on behalf of the digital association Bitkom. A total of 1,209 people in Germany aged 16 and over were interviewed by telephone. The survey took place between calendar weeks 20 and 23 of 2025. The survey is representative. The question asked was: ‘To what extent do the following statements apply to you or in your opinion?’