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New Zealanders' Knowledge Of AI Is On The Increase But Trust And Transparency Concerns Remain High
31 July 2025
New Zealanders remain one of the populations most nervous about products and services using AI in the world, despite our understanding of the technology growing year-on-year.
Ipsos New Zealand has released the findings of a new 31-country AI Monitor. This study of more than 24,000 people across 31 markets reveals a complex and often contradictory relationship between humans and artificial intelligence (AI).
Key findings from the AI Monitor include:
New Zealanders' understanding of AI has increased steadily in the last three years, with nearly three-quarters (73%) of us reporting having a good understanding of AI (up from 69% in 2024 and 62% in 2023.
However, 2 in 3 (66%) of New Zealanders say that AI makes them nervous, placing us as the second highest country in terms of nervousness, just behind Australia at 67%.
New Zealanders' nervousness may be tied to concerns around trust and transparency:
New Zealanders feel strongly that products and services using AI should have to disclose its use;
Only 39% of us trust that companies using AI will protect our personal data; and
58% think that the increased use of AI will exacerbate the spread of disinformation
New Zealanders have a strong preference for human-driven rather than AI-driven content, particularly for news articles and photojournalism (84%)
Nevertheless, New Zealanders accept that AI will have a prominent role in the future, particularly in areas like advertising content creation, job application screening, and ordering food in restaurants.
While New Zealanders can see some benefits of AI (52% think that AI will reduce the amount of time it takes to get things done within the next 3-5 years), half of us (50%) believe that AI will have a negative impact on the job market (in comparison, 18% say that that it will have a positive impact).
Carin Hercock, Country Manager, Ipsos New Zealand, said: 'Our research highlights that brands and organisations using AI need to be more upfront with consumers about how they are using it. If they can explain the benefits of using AI and the protections they have in place around consumer data, New Zealanders' trust and excitement about AI might improve.'
Amanda Dudding, Executive Director Public Affairs, Ipsos New Zealand, added: 'New Zealanders are amongst the most nervous about the use of AI in products and services in the world. Legislation may have a role to play to address this issue as currently, only half of New Zealanders trust the government to regulate AI and only 4 in 10 trust companies which use AI will protect their personal data.'
