Consumer survey reports

1,000 people on humanoid robots: attitudes, fears, readiness

June 2026 · 1,000 respondents

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Consumers are skeptical of humanoid robots, but familiarity almost completely reverses that skepticism. 40% of respondents hold negative attitudes toward humanoid robots while 33% are positive and 27% are neutral. 

But attitudes split sharply along one line: experience. 

Among the 70% who have never interacted with a robot, negatives outnumber positives two to one (47% vs. 23%). Among the 7% who interact with robots frequently, 88% are positive, including 57% "very positive." That group's average purchase intent (75 out of 100) is nearly triple that of the never-interacted group (28).

Money matters too, but differently in each country. In the UK, attitudes and purchase intent climb steadily with household income: half of respondents earning £70,000+ are positive about humanoids (vs. 34% of those under £20,000), and their purchase intent of 49/100 is the highest of any income group in the survey. In the US, income shows no clear gradient: the lowest earners (under $25,000) are actually the most positive American group, and attitudes are essentially flat from $50,000 up.

The reality: people expect humanoid robots to arrive whether they like them or not. The median respondent expects them to be a common sight in public within 10 years, and 71% say within a decade. But today, the majority remains unconvinced they'll be safe, necessary, or beneficial.

Market

Age group

Income

US: Low <$50k · Mid $50–99k · High $100k+  ·  UK: Low <£25k · Mid £25–59k · High £60k+

Sex

n =

1,000

Overview

Key metrics · All respondents

Comfort with robots

3.1 / 5

avg score

Likely to purchase

36%

avg likelihood

Would recommend

3.5 / 10

avg score

Expect mainstream in

10 yrs

median estimate

Overall attitude toward humanoid robots

How respondents describe their general attitude

Scale: 0–30%
Very Positive
11%
11%
Somewhat Positive
22%
22%
Neutral
28%
28%
Somewhat Negative
25%
25%
Very Negative
16%
16%

n = 1,000

Comfort with robot services

Rated on a 1–5 scale from very uncomfortable to very comfortable

Scale: 0–30%
Very uncomfortable
18%
Uncomfortable
15%
Neutral
23%
Comfortable
25%
Very comfortable
19%

n = 1,000

Key concerns

Percentage of respondents who selected each concern (multi-select)

Scale: 0–70%
Safety & security
63%
Job displacement
61%
Lack of emotional intelligence
54%
Ethical implications
35%
Cost
31%
Other
3%

n = 1,000 respondents (multi-select)

Likelihood to purchase

Respondents rated their likelihood to purchase a humanoid robot on a 0–100 scale

36%average purchase likelihood
Scale: 0–50%
Very unlikely(0–20)
46%
Unlikely(21–40)
10%
Undecided(41–60)
18%
Likely(61–80)
16%
Very likely(81–100)
10%

n = 1,000

What matters most in a humanoid robot

Importance ratings for key attributes — darker = more important

Appearance

Somewhat Important: 38%Not Important At All: 38%Very Important: 25%

Voice & communication

Very Important: 44%Not Important At All: 17%Somewhat Important: 39%

Task ability

Not Important At All: 12%Very Important: 57%Somewhat Important: 31%

Learning & adaptation

Very Important: 55%Somewhat Important: 32%Not Important At All: 12%
Not importantSlightly importantModerately importantVery importantExtremely

Preferred use cases

Respondents ranked 5 use cases from most to least preferred — this shows who picked each as their #1

Percentage of respondents who ranked this as their top priority

Scale: 0–40%
#1Hazardous work
37%
#2Entertainment
22%
#3Personal assistance
17%
#4Elderly care
16%
#5Education
8%

Likelihood to recommend

Would respondents recommend humanoid robots to others? Scored 0–10 and grouped into NPS categories

-68NPS score (% promoters minus % detractors)
78%
13%
10%
Detractors (0–6): 78%
Passives (7–8): 13%
Promoters (9–10): 10%

n = 1,000

Perception

Average position on three bipolar scales (1–5)

Respondents rated each statement on a 1–5 scale. The marker shows the average response.

Threatening neutralBeneficial
1avg 2.8 / 55
Unnecessary neutralEssential
1avg 2.6 / 55
Unsafe neutralSafe
1avg 2.7 / 55

Prior experience with robots

Have respondents previously interacted with a humanoid or service robot?

Scale: 0–70%
No, never
70%
Yes, occasionally
23%
Yes, frequently
7%

n = 1,000

Timeline expectations

When do respondents expect humanoid robots to become common in everyday life?

10years

median estimate

12.6years

mean (capped at 100)

42%
29%
16%
Within 5 years— 42%
5–10 years— 29%
10–20 years— 16%
20–50 years— 10%
50+ years— 4%

n = 999 · extreme outliers excluded from mean

Key takeaways

The market for humanoid robots is not yet won or lost. The largest attitude bloc is neutral, and even skeptics expect humanoids to become part of public life within a decade.

The strongest lever in the data is exposure. Every increment of real-world contact is associated with dramatically warmer attitudes and higher purchase intent. For companies commercializing humanoids, that argues for putting robots where people can encounter them like retail, hospitality, and public demonstrations, rather than relying on marketing to overcome concerns about safety and job displacement, which remain the two biggest worries.


Methodology

Online survey of 1,000 adults (600 US, 400 UK) conducted June 23, 2026 via Pollfish.

Figures are unweighted counts of actual responses. Applying Pollfish's demographic weights shifts headline figures by no more than approximately two percentage points and does not change the direction of any findings.

Income bands exclude the approximately 3% of respondents who preferred not to answer.

"Positive" combines somewhat positive and very positive responses. "Negative" combines somewhat negative and very negative responses.

Net Promoter Score (NPS) is calculated as the percentage of respondents scoring 9-10 minus the percentage scoring 0-6 on the 0-10 recommendation scale.