Americans, Danes and Swedes are the least polite to AI, survey finds

Published 5:00 pm Wednesday, July 30, 2025

Americans, Danes and Swedes are the least polite to AI, survey finds

More than two-fifths of AI users (43%) regularly say “please” or “thank you” when interacting with artificial intelligence tools, a new YouGov study finds.

​​The global survey, conducted from June 13 to July 7, 2025, surveyed more than 12,000 AI users across 17 countries, offering cross-cultural insights into the etiquette of human-AI interactions.

This research follows a quote from Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, who said in April 2025 that the electricity costs from people’s politeness to AI is “tens of millions of dollars well spent.”

Results show that while 18% of global AI users always use these polite expressions, a nearly equal 17% never do so.

YouGov’s global research delves into variations across the 17 countries studied, gender differences, and examines how men and women in each nation approach AI courtesy, culminating in a snapshot of AI attitudes in the United States.

YouGov

The data shows a stark contrast in how AI users interact with the technology across various countries.

India, Mexico, and the UAE lead in AI courtesy, with more than 50% of users in these countries always or often saying “please” or “thank you” to AI.

In contrast, Denmark, Sweden, and the US show the lowest rates of AI politeness, with over 40% of users in these countries rarely or never using such courtesies.

Canadians, known for their politeness, match the global average, suggesting that the stereotype might apply more to human interactions than AI interactions.

YouGov

Jumping back out to the global average among AI users, a notable difference emerges when comparing responses from men and women.

Across 17 countries, female AI users are slightly more likely to always use polite language when interacting with AI assistants compared to their male counterparts (21% women vs. 17% men). Following this, men who use AI are slightly more likely than women to never or rarely use polite language when interacting with tools like ChatGPT or Alexa (33% men vs 29% women).

YouGov

While women are generally more likely to say “please” and “thank you” when interacting with AI assistants, both Nordic countries in YouGov’s survey buck this trend.

Denmark sees 34% of male AI users offer polite statements to AI, compared to just 29% of Danish women who use AI. Sweden, meanwhile, had a whopping 13 percentage-point difference (40% men vs 27% women).

The United States shows the most significant gender gap in any direction, with female AI users 14 percentage-points more likely than men to use polite language to AI. Italy, India, and Germany also demonstrate similar disparities, with women consistently more courteous in their AI interactions.

Interestingly, Singapore stands out as the only country with virtually no gender difference in AI politeness.

YouGov

Zooming in on the United States, social media users in the U.S. show varying levels of politeness when interacting with AI, with notable differences across platforms.

X (formerly Twitter) users stand out as the most likely to never say please or thank you to AI, with 22% reporting they never use such polite language.

In contrast, users of LinkedIn, Pinterest, Reddit, Snapchat, and TikTok demonstrate similar levels of courtesy, with roughly 25-30% of users on these platforms always or often using polite words with AI.

When considering the proportion of users who actually interact with AI, Pinterest users emerge as the most likely to be polite, which may correlate with previously explored gender data.

LinkedIn users are the most engaged with AI overall, with 71% reporting some level of interaction, followed closely by Reddit (69%) and X (68%) users.

YouGov

YouGov previously touched on the trend of AI politeness on its “Reality checks” talkshow in May 2025, where expert guest Brian Synder, Chief Innovation Officer at Axicom, explored AI-fueled shifts in consumer behavior across the path to purchase.

Research conducted as part of the project found that Americans who have management responsibilities at their jobs (49%) have the highest proportion of any group profiled to use courteous words, while Americans aged 45-65 (19%) are the least likely to say “please” and “thank you” when interacting with AI.

YouGov

This story was produced by YouGov and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.