Consumer AI habits reveal a new challenge (and opportunity) for digital service providers

F-Secure’s new 2026 Digital Trust Report reveals how AI use is quickly changing consumer behavior and outlines three ways digital service providers can build trust around AI experiences

LOS ANGELES (October 7, 2026) — Consumers are rapidly embedding AI use into their daily lives, but the way they use these tools is creating a new challenge for companies that provide digital services to them. F-Secure’s new Digital Trust Report finds that as people expand their use of AI, they become less consistent about checking its answers, leading to a growing gap between AI adoption and the safety features needed to make their experiences trustworthy.
Based on research with 1,500 consumers in the US and UK, the report examines what people actually do with AI, from how they verify answers to the risks they are willing to take. It finds that consumers realize AI answers and advice can be wrong, yet they often accept answers anyway because they “sound right.” It also highlights how much people are increasingly relying on AI across different areas of their lives.

Among the report’s key findings:

• Frequent AI use is linked to less verification. People who use AI across many types of tasks are less likely to consistently check its answers than those who limit AI to only certain situations.
   
• “Sounds right” is good enough for many consumers. Nearly half of AI users say they don’t question an answer further when it sounds right, even though they know AI can get things wrong.
   
• Consumers want security that does something. Among people who don’t currently use AI chatbots; scam detection, data protection, and blocking harmful or manipulative content were among the security features they valued most.

For digital service providers, the message is simple: people can’t always be expected to catch AI’s mistakes on their own. As AI becomes part of customer service, search, and other digital experiences, providers have an opportunity to make those experiences easier and safer to navigate. The report outlines three ways to do that: build on existing customer relationships, design around how people actually use AI, and step in when protection is needed.

“Trust is what consumers feel; trustworthiness is what we build. It’s the part a product builder or service provider can actually do something about,” said Dr. Laura James, Vice President, Research at F-Secure. “It comes down to being honest about what a system can and can’t do, competent enough to do the job well, and reliable enough to do it again tomorrow. Those are design and engineering choices, not marketing ones.”

The report also highlights an important distinction for the industry as a whole: using AI isn’t the same as trusting it. Consumers are skeptical of AI but still rely on its answers, share sensitive information with it, and rely on it for real-life high stakes decisions. For digital service providers, this type of behavior matters when designing safer AI experiences.
“People know AI can be wrong, but knowing that doesn’t mean they’ll always stop and check,” said Dr. Amel Bourdoucen, Senior User Researcher at F-Secure. “When an answer sounds right, or when there’s no clear source to check against, people often move on. If we want AI experiences to be more trustworthy, we need to think about how to support people in those moments rather than simply putting the responsibility on them.”
The report outlines three clear actions digital service providers can take now to build trust in the AI era: The full F-Secure Digital Trust Report is available now.
Meet F-Secure at Network X
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Discuss opportunities to:

• Expand your security portfolio with scam protection
• Strengthen your embedded security strategy
• Grow your connected home offering
• Scale your security VAS with F-Secure Horizon

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About F‑Secure
F-Secure is a human-first, AI-powered consumer cyber security experience company with 38 years of expertise in tackling digital threats. We help digital service providers turn trust into a high-value growth engine — protecting their customers while enabling them to live their best digital lives in a world of relentless, AI-driven scams. With billions of digital interactions secured each year, tens of millions of consumers protected globally, and over $10bn in partner value created, we deliver proven impact at scale.
PRESS CONTACTS:
Meghan Sawyer
Senior Public Relations Manager, US
Meghan.Sawyer@f-secure.com
Joel Latto
Threat Advisor & Public Relations Manager, EMEA
Joel.Latto@f-secure.com