By Shea Brennan, Insight
Generative AI and LLMs have revolutionised the search experience. In the first eight months of 2025, ChatGPT recorded 1.8 billion visits in the UK alone, a figure that is only set to grow as LLM adoption becomes widespread.
Despite the surge in popularity of AI tools, pockets of discontent have emerged in some communities. In the US, last month’s announcement of a deal between ChatGPT and the US military sparked a backlash, with celebrities including Katy Perry and Mark Ruffalo backing a grassroots ‘QuitGPT’ movement that eventually led OpenAI to reform its military agreement.
While many of the estimated four million people who switched from ChatGPT following the announcement migrated to OpenAI’s chief rival, Anthropic’s Claude, the movement’s success highlights the unsteady relationship between consumers and tech. It also shows how fringe anti-tech movements can snowball into collective mainstream action.
The US has been at the centre of anti-tech discourse in 2026 so far, but the UK has experienced pockets of activity. March Against the Machines, organised by Extinction Rebellion at the end of February, saw the largest protest staged yet surrounding the general use of AI. More prevalent in the national discourse has been the rise of a more disparate anti-smartphone movement. A campaign, Smartphone Free Childhood, has received signatures from over 180,000 parents pledging to delay the age at which they will give their children a smartphone.
These moves follow a recent Ofcom report which showed adults are feeling less positive towards social media. In 2025, only 59% of British adults said the benefits of social media outweighed the risks, a drop from 72% in 2024. The common thread linking all anti-tech sentiments is how fast they can move. What can begin as a fringe anti-tech movement can gain considerable traction within a month, affecting change at both a grassroots and government level.
Yet, usage data tells a more nuanced story about how anti-tech discourse affects change on a behavioural level. Social media usage remains widespread, with Ofcom reporting nine in ten still access at least one social media platform daily. Indeed, according to IPA TouchPoints, usage of social media has risen rather than declined since 2024. Likewise, adoption of AI continues to grow across the UK. Anti-tech movements, while gaining traction among communities such as parents, have not fundamentally changed consumer behaviour on a national scale.
Brands should view the broad anti-tech movement through an audience-first lens. Different audiences are engaging to vastly different extents; while some have called for action against tech companies, millions more continue to adopt AI and social media into their daily routines.
Furthermore, most ‘successful’ anti-tech movements focus on specific issues of how tech is used and who it is controlled by, rather than disparaging tech with broad brushstrokes.
These movements, while gaining traction, have focused on shifting behaviours among a proportion of the population; shifts that can be harnessed by agile brands. If brands take the time to understand their audience’s relationship with tech, they can continue to play a positive role in consumers’ lives.
