Generative AI in Bulgaria: Social Attitudes and Consumption According to a New National Study

A national representative study conducted by the "Alpha Research" agency between July 7 and 14, 2025, reveals an in-depth picture of attitudes towards generative AI technologies in Bulgarian society. The results show that 44% of the adult population have already encountered platforms like ChatGPT and Gemini, with only 13% using them actively, and 31% - episodically.

The study discovers significant differences in AI usage among different age and educational groups. Youth between 18 and 29 years old emerge as the most active users, with every third declaring regular use. In contrast, among people over 60, only 19% have touched such technologies.

Educational status plays a key role in the perception of AI innovations. People with higher education demonstrate the highest degree of adaptation - 62% use them regularly. In contrast, among groups with primary education, this percentage falls dramatically to 21%.

The usage profile from the perspective of goals is also interesting. Bulgarian users turn to generative artificial intelligence twice as often for personal needs (36%), compared to professional tasks (18%). This imbalance is constant across all socio-demographic groups.

Emotional attitudes towards the technology are almost equally divided. 36% of respondents see potential for supporting humanity, especially in scientific and medical fields. This perspective is shared mostly by young graduates. In parallel, 32% express concerns about potential AI risks.

Experts from "Alpha Research" emphasize that such contradictory reactions are not new in the history of technological innovations. They draw a parallel with previous epoch-making discoveries that initially met skepticism but subsequently changed the world.

Forecasts indicate that in countries with a higher degree of AI adaptation, optimism significantly prevails over doubts. This suggests optimism for the future spread of technology and potential transformations in various social spheres.

A key conclusion from the study is that Bulgaria is currently at an average European level regarding generative artificial intelligence, but with some lag in terms of purposefulness and depth of its application.