The AI Confessional: People Tell AI Their Deepest Secrets. Only 1 in 4 Think They Control What Happens Next

New EQUS survey finds 79% of U.S. adults who use AI assistants say they should own what their AI knows about them. But only 24% believe they do.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AI assistants have become the place people take their money worries, their stress and discuss the people they love. Only one in four believe they control what happens to it next.

The new “What People Really Want From AI: The Personal AI Report” commissioned by EQUS, a company building the trust layer between people and the AI that acts for them, found that 77% of U.S. adults who use an AI assistant have discussed a personal topic with it. Health issues lead (44%), followed by finances (32%), and stress or anxiety (30%).

Most believe they should own and control the often highly sensitive personal information they share with AI. The survey found that 79% believe they should own and control the information they feed into the assistant. Only 24% believe they actually have that control.

Confusion Reigns Over How AI Handles Data

The survey revealed widespread confusion about how personal AI assistants handle data.

Seventy-four percent of people who said they should own their data don’t believe they do, and 44% of that group believe the AI company owns it. Across all respondents, 34% say the company owns it, 23% say they and the company share ownership, and 19% are not sure.

About one-third (32%) reported attempting to delete the information the assistant collected. Of those, 62% were not certain the attempt worked or could not figure out the deletion process. And 59% are either unsure whether their AI assistant has a private mode or believe it doesn’t.

Many users also hold back. Sixty-seven percent have redacted a file before uploading it or typed something personal and then decided not to send it.

“Two-thirds of people have already stopped themselves mid-sentence or scrubbed a file before sharing it. That hesitation is a tax on everything AI could do for them. When people own their data, they share what actually helps,” said Sandy Carter, CEO of EQUS.

Asked to choose among three options, 39% picked an assistant that remembers them but cannot use that memory for anything else. That was the top choice, ahead of an assistant that keeps no record (33%) and memory governed by company policy (21%). Thirty-nine percent would definitely or probably pay for that kind of assistant, and another 25% said it would depend on the price.

Sharing More Than Their Own Secrets

Most users are sharing deeply personal information with AI, and not just their own.

• The survey found 65% of users have shared information about someone else, including a friend (36%), a partner (33%), or their own child (19%).
• The younger the user, the more they talk about other people. More than three-quarters of Gen Z (78%) and Millennials (77%) have shared information about someone else, compared with 63% of Gen X, and 48% of Boomers.
• Gen Z was also the most likely to hold back, with 59% typing something personal but not sending it, compared with 47% of Millennials, 45% of Gen X, and 37% of Boomers.

Secondhand Surveillance

Even people who do not use an AI assistant, or have deleted their accounts, may get caught up in what EQUS calls “secondhand surveillance.” A partner, family member, or coworker can place shared finances, relationship journal entries, medical updates or photos into an AI model, and your private life is uploaded without your consent. Among full-time workers, 1 in 4 have already shared details about a coworker or client with an AI assistant.

An AI can then construct a detailed profile of you through the lens of someone else’s prompts, often without that person knowing.

Already Signed Away

Users also draw a firm line on what AI companies can do with their information. Sixty-six percent say letting an assistant read their information should not allow the company to share or sell it, yet 24% believe they have already agreed to exactly that. Most of that group (67%) say it shouldn’t be permitted.

Users also want the freedom to switch AI assistants and either take their data with them (75%) or be assured the previous platform will delete it. AI assistants will let a user leave and export their data, but they may also retain a copy for their own future use.

Sixty-seven percent say switching assistants should be as easy as porting a mobile phone number, and 55% of those who have switched assistants said they would pay for the right to own their AI’s memory of their profile.

“As more people use personal AI and share even more with it, one question gets bigger,” Carter said. “Who owns that data, and can you take it back?”

The online survey of 1,034 U.S. adults ages 18 and older who use an AI assistant for personal matters was conducted by Propeller Insights on behalf of EQUS between Sept. 23 and Oct. 1, 2026.

Access “What People Really Want From AI: The Personal AI Report” here.

About EQUS

EQUS builds the trust layer between people and the AI that acts for them, and builds it to belong to the person rather than the platform. The platform gives each person somewhere to keep their data, proof of who their AI is acting for, and control over what it may do: a private data store the individual controls, credentials that disclose only what a given interaction requires, and permissions granted and revoked file by file, with a record of everything the AI has been given. For more information, visit www.Equs.ai.