Conversational AI increases political knowledge as effectively as self-directed internet search
Authors: L Luettgau, HR Kirk, K Hackenburg, J Bergs, H Davidson, H Ogden, D Siddarth, S Huang
Published: 2025
Publication: ARXIV
Conversational AI is as effective as self-directed internet searches in increasing political knowledge, reducing misinformation beliefs, and promoting accuracy among users in the UK during the 2024 election period.
Methods: A national survey (N=2,499) measured conversational AI usage for political information-seeking, followed by a series of randomised controlled trials (N=2,858) comparing conversational AI to self-directed internet search in improving political knowledge.
Key Findings: Extent of conversational AI usage for political knowledge-seeking in the UK and its efficacy in enhancing political knowledge and reducing misinformation compared to traditional internet searches.
Limitations: Potential biases in self-reported data; study confined to UK public; lacking long-term impact assessment of conversational AI's influence on political knowledge retention and misinformation susceptibility.
Institution: AI Security Institute, I Policy Directorate, Collective Intelligence Project, Anthropic
Research Area: Experimental evaluation, RCT, Survey Research
Discipline: Computer Science, Human–Computer Interaction (HCI)
Sample Size: 5357 participants
Citations: 3