The firm’s AI Experience Q4 2025 Dashboard, based on a survey of 8,018 US heads of internet households, shows AI shifting from novelty to embedded utility across personal, professional, and smart home environments.

“AI has moved into the mainstream of digital life,” said Jennifer Kent, SVP & Principal Analyst, Parks Associates. “But the winners in the next phase won’t be those with the most features — they’ll be the companies that deliver trusted, embedded intelligence inside ecosystems consumers already value.”

Parks Associates finds that smart home and security customers represent the most attractive near-term segment for AI service monetisation. Security system owners use paid AI tools at roughly twice the rate of the average household. With approximately 41 million US internet households owning a security system, this translates into more than 12 million homes already engaged with paid AI solutions.

Some of the topline findings highlighted by Parks include:

• Only 16% of households use a paid version of an AI application, representing roughly 20 million US internet households.
• 30% of consumers say they are less likely to purchase a product marketed as “AI-powered,” nearly double the share who say such messaging increases purchase intent.
• Chat GPT leads the market with 38% household usage, up from 26% one year ago; two-thirds of generative AI users report using Chat GPT.
• 15% of security system owners pay for AI-powered enhancements to their security services today, and security households account for roughly two-thirds of all paid AI users.

“AI-forward branding alone does not drive purchase intent,” Kent said. “Consumers reward clear utility and embedded value, not buzzwords. Providers must prioritise transparency, privacy by design, and practical service benefits to convert adoption into durable revenue.”

The AI Experience Dashboard, which the firm announced in December, is part of Parks Associates’ ongoing Consumer Insights research programme, which tracks AI sentiment, platform usage, monetisation trends, and competitive positioning in the connected consumer ecosystem.

Parks Associates will host its 30th annual Connections connected home conference in Santa Clara in May, with sessions on AI, security, broadband, energy, and the smart home featuring its latest research.