52.8 % of Finns aged 18 to 74, about 2.09 million people, use AI services at least weekly. 28.2 %, about 1.12 million, use them daily. Search engines are still more common: 92.8 % use one every week. The figures come from the NØRR3 Media Insights study, August 2026.
We recommend channels to our clients based on data, not assumptions. That is why we ask Finns about their media use ourselves. We looked at who uses AI, how use differs by age, gender, education and region, and what it means for a company's visibility.
How many Finns use AI?
We asked how often respondents use AI services such as ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot. One in four does not use them at all, and one in ten uses them several times a day.
| How often | Share | People |
|---|---|---|
| Several times a day | 11.1 % | 441 000 |
| Daily | 17.1 % | 675 000 |
| Weekly | 24.6 % | 973 000 |
| Less often | 21.0 % | 830 000 |
| Never | 26.2 % | 1 035 000 |
| Total | 100 % | 3 952 000 |
Source: NØRR3 Media Insights 08/2026 · Panel data Norstat · n = 2 022 · 95 % confidence interval ±2.2 pp. Person counts are rounded estimates.
AI use by age group
Age only makes a difference from 60 onwards. Among people under 60, 57–59 % use AI weekly, with no statistically clear difference between age groups. Among 60 to 74-year-olds, 38.6 % use it weekly and 40.5 % never use it.
| Age group | At least weekly | Daily | Never | n |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18–29 | 59.3 % | 30.7 % | 18.7 % | 400 |
| 30–44 | 57.1 % | 29.4 % | 21.2 % | 514 |
| 45–59 | 57.4 % | 31.4 % | 23.1 % | 549 |
| 60–74 | 38.6 % | 21.8 % | 40.5 % | 559 |
| All 18–74 | 52.8 % | 28.2 % | 26.2 % | 2 022 |
Source: NØRR3 Media Insights 08/2026 · Panel data Norstat · margin of error by age group ±4.0–4.8 pp.
Many assume AI is a young people's tool. In our data, 45 to 59-year-olds use it daily as much as under-30s. So if your message is about AI, there is little reason to narrow the audience by age.
Men, women, education and region
56.6 % of men and 49.7 % of women use AI weekly (n = 999 and 1 007, ±3.1 pp). Daily use is 32.4 % among men and 24.3 % among women.
For people under 60, education separates users more than age. 65.2 % of people with a university degree (excluding universities of applied sciences) use AI weekly (n = 440, ±4.5 pp), 61.3 % of those with a university of applied sciences degree (n = 417, ±4.7 pp) and 42.0 % of those with a vocational qualification (n = 569, ±4.0 pp).
By region, use is most common in Helsinki-Uusimaa at 57.8 % (n = 624, ±3.9 pp). In Southern Finland the share is 52.3 %, in Western Finland 49.8 % and in Northern and Eastern Finland 49.4 % (±4.8, ±4.3 and ±4.6 pp).
AI does not replace search engines
AI users have not given up search. Of weekly AI users, 98.1 % also use a search engine weekly and 84.8 % daily (n = 1 058, ±0.8–2.2 pp). AI sits alongside the search engine.
Daily search engine use is almost the same in every age group, 72–79 %. The difference lies in what else people use to search.
| Service | At least weekly | Daily |
|---|---|---|
| Search engines (Google, Bing etc.) | 92.8 % | 74.2 % |
| Social media search | 55.4 % | 30.0 % |
| AI services | 52.8 % | 28.2 % |
| Base | 3 952 000 people, n = 2 022 | |
Source: NØRR3 Media Insights 08/2026 · Panel data Norstat · n = 2 022 · 95 % confidence interval ±1.1–2.2 pp.
Younger people also search on social media
The younger generation also uses social media platforms to look things up. Among 18 to 29-year-olds, 56.2 % search on TikTok, YouTube or another social platform daily, and 79.1 % at least weekly. Among 60 to 74-year-olds, 12.8 % use social search daily and 38.7 % never use it.
| Age group | Social search at least weekly | Social search daily | Never uses social search | AI daily | n |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18–29 | 79.1 % | 56.2 % | 12.6 % | 30.7 % | 400 |
| 30–44 | 63.6 % | 34.4 % | 16.7 % | 29.4 % | 514 |
| 45–59 | 50.3 % | 21.7 % | 20.2 % | 31.4 % | 549 |
| 60–74 | 32.7 % | 12.8 % | 38.7 % | 21.8 % | 559 |
| All 18–74 | 55.4 % | 30.0 % | 22.4 % | 28.2 % | 2 022 |
Source: NØRR3 Media Insights 08/2026 · Panel data Norstat · margin of error by age group ±3.9–4.8 pp.
Under-30s search on social media daily almost twice as often as they use AI, 56.2 % vs 30.7 %. Among 45 to 59-year-olds the order is reversed: 31.4 % use AI daily and 21.7 % use social search. If you want to reach a young audience, you need to show up in social search results as well as in search engines and AI.
The same trend shows elsewhere. In an Adobe Express survey in the United States, 49 % of consumers said they had used TikTok as a search engine in 2026, up from 41 % two years earlier (Adobe Express, 807 respondents, 01/2026). The Finnish figures come from our own study.
What this means for marketing
1. Show up in both search and AI answers
When more than two million Finns ask AI questions every week, part of the shortlist for a purchase is made inside the answer. Search is still the foundation: AI services pull information from the same pages as search engines, and a fast, indexable page that answers the question directly serves both. So track both your search rankings and whether your company is mentioned in AI answers, and which sources those answers rely on. Our search engine optimisation and AI optimisation pages explain how to improve visibility in both.
2. AI users are reached through familiar media
Of daily AI users, 63.7 % watch MTV channels weekly and 98.5 % use social media weekly (n = 567, ±3.9 and ±1.0 pp). MTV viewing is at the same level as in the whole population (index 102), and social media use is slightly more common (index 106). AI users are not a separate audience that needs new channels.
3. AI is also an ad placement
Advertising in ChatGPT opened in Europe in August 2026. We have gathered what is known so far about ChatGPT advertising in Finland.
4. Under-45s also find you through social search
When the audience is young, your social channel name, bio, captions and on-screen text are part of search visibility. Our social media marketing page explains how organic and paid social work together.
How the figures compare with other studies
According to Statistics Finland, 41 % of 16 to 89-year-olds had used generative AI in the previous three months in 2025, up from 23 % the year before. The most common use was searching for information, at 33 % (Statistics Finland, Use of information and communications technology by individuals 2025).
The figures are not directly comparable. Statistics Finland's figures are from 2025, ours from August 2026. Statistics Finland asks whether respondents have used AI in the past three months. We ask how often they use it, and our age range is 18 to 74. Statistics Finland's figures show a rapid rise, and our data shows that use is now mainstream.
Interested in research?
The figures in this post come from our own study. We have run NØRR3 Media Insights with Norstat since 2023, and the same data shows which media your audience uses and how many of them you can reach.
We also run brand and campaign studies: a baseline against competitors, campaign studies and ad pre-testing. You can add your own question to every Media Insights wave and track your own topic over time. Read more about our research.
FAQ
How many Finns use AI?
52.8 % of Finns aged 18 to 74, about 2.09 million people, use AI services at least weekly. 28.2 %, about 1.12 million, use them daily, and 11.1 % several times a day. One in four, 26.2 %, does not use AI services at all. The figures come from the NØRR3 Media Insights study, August 2026 (n = 2 022, ±2.2 pp).
Do young people use AI the most?
Not really. Among people under 60 the difference is small: 59.3 % of 18 to 29-year-olds use AI weekly, 57.1 % of 30 to 44-year-olds and 57.4 % of 45 to 59-year-olds. Daily, 45 to 59-year-olds use it as much as the youngest group, 31.4 % and 30.7 %. The clear gap only appears among 60 to 74-year-olds: 38.6 % use AI weekly and 40.5 % never use it.
Will AI replace Google?
Not yet. Of weekly AI users, 98.1 % also use a search engine weekly and 84.8 % daily. Of all 18 to 74-year-olds, 92.8 % use a search engine weekly and 52.8 % use AI. AI sits alongside search, so your company needs to show up in both.
Do young people search on social media?
Yes, and much more than older age groups. 56.2 % of 18 to 29-year-olds search on TikTok, YouTube or another social platform daily, and 79.1 % at least weekly. Among 60 to 74-year-olds, 12.8 % use social search daily and 38.7 % never use it. Under-30s search on social media daily almost twice as often as they use AI.
Where do the figures come from?
The figures come from NØRR3 Media Insights, a representative media use study collected in the Norstat panel. We have run it since 2023, with more than 18 000 respondents over eight waves. The August 2026 wave had 2 022 respondents, weighted by age, gender and region. This was the first time we asked about AI use, so there is no time series yet. Read more about NØRR3 Media Insights and how Finns use media in 2026.
Want to know what AI says about your company?
We find out whether your company is mentioned in AI answers and which sources those answers rely on.
About the author
Maria Malila, Client & Team Lead, NØRR3
Maria has over 20 years in marketing on both the client and the agency side. She has led teams, campaigns and accounts at Hartwall and Eezy, among others, as well as at advertising agencies. Maria first came to NØRR3 as a client, so she still reads data through a marketing manager's eyes: what do we do with this on Monday? At NØRR3 she looks after people, campaigns and client projects.
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