Scripps News Poll Finds Concern About AI Political Ads

Buffalo, NY, October 14, 2026 —

A Scripps News poll indicates that 40% of U.S. registered voters have encountered political advertisements using artificial intelligence that they considered confusing or misleading. The poll also found that more than three-quarters of voters believe regulations should govern AI use in political campaigning.

The findings point to two concerns among respondents: exposure to AI-generated or AI-assisted political ads they found difficult to interpret, and support for rules addressing the technology’s role in campaigns. The poll summary does not specify what kinds of ads respondents saw or what aspects they found confusing or misleading.

The results reflect voters’ reported experiences and views as described in the poll. They do not, on their own, establish how frequently AI is used in political advertising, whether particular ads contained false information, or what regulations voters favor. The summary also does not provide details about the poll’s field dates, sample size, methodology or margin of error.

Those missing details limit what can be concluded about the findings beyond the figures reported. The poll summary does not identify specific proposals for regulating AI in campaigns or indicate whether respondents were asked to distinguish among different uses of the technology. It reports that over three-quarters favor some form of regulation, but does not describe the scope or requirements they support.

According to the summary, 40% of registered voters surveyed said they had encountered political ads using AI that they found confusing or misleading. The poll’s results provide a measure of respondents’ reported exposure and attitudes, while leaving those additional questions unanswered.

Story summarized from the original created by Andrew Rafferty on www.wkbw.com, see more information here.