AI Use at Work Grows; Newsletters Rise as a Media Trend

More U.S. employees reported using AI at work “at least a few times a year,” increasing from 40% to 45% between the second and third quarters of 2025, a Gallup survey found. 

In the survey of U.S. adults employed full- and part-time, the share that reported using AI at work “frequently” (a few times a week or more) grew from 19% to 23%, and daily use ticked up from 8% to 10% during the same period.

Employees in knowledge-based jobs, such as technology or professional services, were more likely to use AI than frontline workers, Gallup found. Seventy-six percent of employees who work in technology or information systems, 58% in finance, and 57% in professional services used AI at work a few times a year or more. In contrast, within industries that have higher numbers of frontline employees, 33% of workers in retail, 37% in health care and 38% in manufacturing reported using AI at work a few times a year or more.

Newsletters Were 2025’s Hot Media Trend

As media consumers increasingly trust individual journalists and content creators more than they trust established media outlets, a wave of musicians, writers, journalists, comedians and brands has launched direct-to-consumer newsletters, which often include video and audio. 

As The Wall Street Journal reports, former Vanity Fair and New Yorker editor Tina Brown publishes her “Fresh Hell” newsletter on Substack, a platform that’s become a hub of social and cultural commentary, political opinions and literary work. Brown’s newsletter, which offers trenchant takes on news and culture, has amassed more than 75,000 subscribers since launching in 2024.

New York magazine, the New Yorker and The Wall Street Journal’s opinion section all added Substack newsletters in 2025, as did American Eagle and Shopify. 

Legacy brands are starting to see newsletters as growth opportunities rather than threats, said Substack co-founder Hamish McKenzie. Publishers have lost traffic from Facebook, which now offers news content, and Google, which shows AI summaries atop its search pages. Newsletters offer a direct connection with readers.

People Grow Cautious about International Travel, Survey Finds

Americans are being more cautious about international travel, YouGov reports. A recent survey finds a global travel market influenced by affordability and shifting perceptions of value, not just by people’s desire to explore.

International travel remains out of reach for many Americans. Some 60% of respondents said they never travel abroad for leisure. Among higher-income Americans, international travel is far more common. But even among those who travel internationally, 43% said they had done so less frequently in the previous year. 

Respondents cited economic uncertainty, rising travel costs and personal factors for their more cautious approach to international travel. Travelers report rising prices for transportation, dining and accommodations, prompting many to rethink how frequently they travel and how they manage their budgets, YouGov says. 

Further price increases could lead travelers to take fewer overseas trips or visit domestic destinations instead. 

“Americans’ appetite for international travel hasn’t disappeared,” said Kenton Barello, YouGov’s vice president. “It has simply become more selective.” 

Edelman Trust Barometer: Distrust Making People Insular

Across international surveys, 70% of respondents report that they’re hesitant or unwilling to trust others who have different values, backgrounds and approaches to social issues or information sources, the 2026 Edelman Trust Barometer finds.

There are other factors deepening this social insularity too. One is economic anxiety, with two-thirds of employees worried that trade policies and tariffs will hurt their em-ployer. Among low-income and middle-income respondents, 54% and 44%, respectively, believe that generative AI will leave them behind, rather than benefit them.

Respondents rated their own employers as their most trusted institution. Workers also expect their employer to broker trust between distrustful groups within the organiza-tion. The CEO is expected to lead this process, with publicly endorsed strategies that in-clude consulting people with different values and backgrounds when making decisions and constructively engaging with employees who criticize the company.

Some 42% of employees surveyed say they would rather switch departments than report to a manager whose values differ from their own.