Like chatbots or hate them, Utahns are spending an average of 17 days a year online with them.
A survey of more than 3,000 people nationally by IT support provider AllSafeIT shows that Utahns’ average is 17 days, two hours and 36 minutes.
“Utahns are now spending their free time whispering sweet nothings to chatbots,” AllSafeIT said. “What started as a quirky novelty has ballooned into a full-blown cultural experiment: AI companions have become the digital equivalent of that friend who always picks up, never interrupts, and occasionally offers surprisingly sage advice.”
The time spent with chatbots is highest in South Dakota, at 53 days a year. “That’s nearly two months of bonus digital companionship,” AllSafeIT said. “Clearly, the prairie winds aren’t the only thing whispering back.” The company said the figure “suggests AI is less a novelty here and more a lifeline, filling long, rural stretches with conversation.”
Meanwhile, the figure was lowest in Vermont, at about five days, “suggesting they still prefer maple syrup over machine learning for comfort,” the company said.
When asked to define their relationship with a chatbot, Utahns leaned more pragmatic than poetic, with 63 percent saying it felt closer to using an app and 37 percent said it was closer to talking with a friend. Almost a quarter of respondents said they would miss their favorite chatbot “quite a lot” or “a great deal” if it vanished tomorrow.
Four in 10 Utahns say they would rather confess a secret to a chatbot than to a priest or therapist. Around one-third admit to telling their AI something they would never tell a partner, parent or
best friend.
Some even let their guard down completely, as 30 percent say they’ve uttered, “I love you” to their chatbot, even if only half-joking. “That mix of levity and honesty shows just how much emotional space these tools are occupying,” AllSafe IT said.
But trust has limits. A mere 14 percent said they completely trust a chatbot with personal information, while more than a third flatly said “not at all.”
Among the quirks revealed in the survey are that 22 percent of respondents would cancel plans for a bot chat, 30 percent say a chatbot’s opinion would sting more than a stranger’s, 42 percent say bots give better advice than friends, and 18 percent admit being understood better by a bot than a partner.
One in four surveyed Utahns revealed they would be fine with a chatbot officiating a wedding, and more than a quarter would pay for a “premium friendship” tier. Twenty-six percent said their AI companion is more valuable to them than Netflix or Spotify.
“Technology has always blurred the line between tool and companion, but this survey shows just how far that line has shifted,” said Bones Ljeoma of AllSafeIT. “For some, AI chatbots are as valuable as caffeine, or more valuable than streaming services. That says a lot about where digital relationships are heading in the next decade.”
Details about the survey are at https://www.allsafeit.com/blog/time-spent-talking-to-chatbots-2025-survey.