AI has moved into everyday decision-making faster than most people expected. Car insurance is now part of that shift. A recent survey of 3,002 US drivers found that a meaningful share have already used AI assistants to help them shop for coverage, mainly to compare quotes and narrow down options.
The pattern is fairly consistent across the results: drivers like AI when the task is shopping and sorting. Trust drops when the task involves high-stakes judgment calls like claims decisions or assigning fault after a crash.
How many drivers are using AI for insurance shopping
In the survey, 42% of respondents said they have used AI assistants while shopping for car insurance. The most common use case was quote comparison, with 76% saying they use AI specifically to compare insurers and pricing options.
The same survey reported broad comfort with AI guidance during the buying process. It found that 86% of respondents said they trust AI to guide them through buying coverage. That does not mean they want AI making every decision. It signals that many drivers are comfortable using AI to explain options, summarize tradeoffs, and speed up the “research” phase.
The biggest divide is age
Younger drivers are far more likely to rely on AI when shopping for insurance. In the survey results, about 60% of Gen Z drivers reported using AI during car insurance shopping, compared with about 20% of baby boomers.
That gap tracks with how different generations use technology for financial choices more broadly. Younger drivers tend to be more comfortable with app-driven decisions, automated comparisons, and self-service tools. Older drivers tend to prefer agents, phone support, and established processes, especially when the product involves legal obligations and long-term contracts.
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Adoption also varies by state
The survey showed meaningful differences by state. California was reported as a high-use state, while Illinois was at the low end of the range mentioned. The broader point is that AI usage is not uniform, and it appears to be higher in some large, high-cost insurance markets where people have a stronger incentive to shop and re-shop pricing.
| State | Drivers Who Used AI to Shop for Insurance | Avg Annual Cost of Full-Cover Insurance |
|---|---|---|
| California | 55% | $2,525 |
| Florida | 45% | $2,912 |
| Georgia | 39% | $3,025 |
| Illinois | 34% | $1,950 |
| Michigan | 36% | $3,131 |
| New York | 49% | $3,724 |
| North Carolina | 38% | $1,250 |
| Ohio | 41% | $1,472 |
| Pennsylvania | 41% | $2,082 |
| Texas | 45% | $2,673 |
| United States | 42% | $2,310 |
Many drivers would let AI complete the purchase if the savings were real
The survey suggests that willingness to hand over more control increases quickly when the potential savings are large. It found that 39% of drivers would allow AI to finalize their insurance purchase if it meant getting a cheaper rate. When the hypothetical savings increased to $1,000, that figure jumped to 68%.
That is a useful signal about how consumers think about the tradeoff. AI is seen as acceptable when it removes friction and lowers cost. The same people may still want a human involved when the decision affects a claim outcome, a denial, or a fault determination.
AI vs agents: where people think AI performs better
The survey found that 52% of respondents believe an AI assistant can compare insurance quotes better than an agent. A sizable share of Gen Z also reported confidence in AI on customer service interactions, with 42% saying AI could outperform a human agent in that area.
This makes sense given what AI is good at today: summarizing options, comparing features quickly, and answering repetitive questions without wait times. It is less about replacing expertise and more about removing the slow parts of shopping.
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Where trust drops: claims and fault
The survey showed noticeably lower confidence in AI for claim decisions and accident responsibility. About 40% said they would trust AI to approve or deny claims, and 38% said they would trust AI to determine fault.
That gap matters because claims are where insurance becomes real. Buying insurance is a shopping problem. Claims are a fairness and accountability problem. People are more comfortable with automation when the consequence is “I might not get the absolute best deal,” and less comfortable when the consequence is “I might not get paid.”
What this trend means for car insurance shopping
AI is becoming a front-end tool for insurance shopping, especially for quote comparison, coverage education, and filtering options. It is also beginning to influence how people expect insurers and marketplaces to work: faster answers, fewer forms, and more personalized guidance.
At the same time, the survey results suggest consumers still want a clear human escalation path for claims, disputes, and fault-related issues. As AI adoption grows, the companies that gain trust will likely be the ones that combine fast AI-driven shopping with transparent rules and accessible human support when the stakes are high.
