Technology has become a routine part of home cooking, from voice assistants setting timers to TikTok serving as a source of recipe ideas. Artificial intelligence is now a growing presence in the kitchen, with tools such as ChatGPT helping people choose meals, adapt recipes and decide whether to cook or order in.

A survey of 1,000 people across the UK and the US outlines how AI is influencing everyday cooking habits. The findings highlight the increasing digital confidence of younger generations, who frequently rely on AI and social media during routine meal preparation as well as during seasonal events such as Christmas.

Key findings

• 24% of Brits and 19% of Americans regularly use ChatGPT for cooking help.
• Nearly 1 in 5 Americans and 15% of Brits have followed an AI recipe that turned out better than a family recipe.
• More than 1 in 5 Americans and Brits, at 22%, plan to use ChatGPT to help with Christmas dinner.
• 22% of Americans plan to use ChatGPT for their Thanksgiving meal.

Confidence in traditional cooking

Cooking from scratch remains valued across both countries, although confidence levels differ slightly. In the UK, 90% of respondents felt confident preparing a recipe without assistance. In the US, the figure was 84%. British respondents were also more inclined to rely on memory, with 66% saying they often cook without referring to instructions, compared with 62% of Americans.

Influence of social media and AI

For many people, learning to cook is shaped by online platforms. Over 1 in 4 respondents, at 26%, said they had learned to cook through YouTube or TikTok. Real-time support also plays a significant role. TikTok is used by 20% of Brits and 21% of Americans while cooking. ChatGPT is used by around 1 in 4 in the UK and 1 in 5 in the US.

Generational patterns are clear. Among Gen Z, 38% use TikTok while cooking, compared with 22% of millennials. AI use skews slightly older. Millennials were the most likely to seek help from AI tools, with 25% saying they did so, followed by 20% of Gen Z.

How people use AI in everyday cooking

Respondents most commonly turn to AI for recipe selection. Thirty-seven percent said finding a recipe is their primary reason for using AI or search tools. Practical assistance is also common. Twenty-four percent use AI to suggest ingredient substitutions, and 22% rely on it to convert measurements or temperatures.

AI also shapes decision-making. Nearly 1 in 5 Americans and 15% of Brits said an AI-generated recipe had surpassed a family recipe in quality. A smaller group relies on AI even earlier in the process. Fifteen percent of Americans and 14% of Brits said they had let AI decide whether they should cook or order takeaway.

Trust continues to grow. Twenty percent of respondents said they would prefer mid-recipe assistance from AI rather than another person. Seasonal cooking reflects this shift. In the US, 22% plan to use ChatGPT for Thanksgiving dinner. For Christmas, 22% of both Americans and Brits said they expect to rely on ChatGPT for meal preparation.

Openness to AI for personal and routine occasions

Many respondents are comfortable using AI in situations that might once have felt too personal for digital tools. More than half of UK respondents, at 58%, and US respondents, at 52%, said they would feel confident letting ChatGPT cook a meal for a first date. AI is also used for planning. Forty-four percent of Americans and 40% of Brits said they would trust AI to create a week of meals tailored to their diet.