Author: Matt Craig, Senior Director of Product Development

The Metrigy Quarterly AI Sentiment Index for the first quarter of 2026 presents a comprehensive look at how artificial intelligence (AI) has evolved from a technological novelty into a core component of the technological environment. Although the overall sentiment toward AI remains positive, we see significant fractures in perception across demographic, economic, and educational lines.

Our data reveals a landscape where users are increasingly torn between the pragmatic benefits of productivity and a growing anxiety regarding privacy and job displacement. This baseline study kicks off a longitudinal tracking framework to capture the intersection of AI and human experience through a representative sample of 1,000 U.S. consumers.

To quantify these complex feelings, the research employs a diffusion index methodology that calculates scores by comparing positive and negative sentiment of respondents on AI impacting them personally, socially, and economically. Both current and near future timeframes are examined creating two components: The current AI sentiment score and the future AI sentiment score. Together these comprise the overall AI Sentiment Index. The first quarter of 2026 establishes a baseline score of 124.0 for the total AI Sentiment Index. The current and future AI sentiment scores come in at 123.4 and 124.5, respectively. Each quarter, Metrigy will track the changes compared to this baseline.

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