News-hungry Aussies drive big spike in news consumption as AI usage soars

Australians turned to news websites and apps in record numbers in April, as major local and global events gripped the national conversation, according to the latest Ipsos iris data.

A total of 21.3 million Australians accessed online news content last month, as the federal election campaign, the death of Pope Francis and Erin Patterson's mushroom trial engaged millions of readers.

Key drivers of engagement included early voting and leaders' debates, the Neo Nazi protest in Melbourne, the Queensland flood emergency, and ongoing coverage of the Israel/Hamas conflict and Ukraine war. US politics also featured heavily, including revived tariff threats from President Trump and reactions from Australian politicians.

The data shows celebrity stories continued to hold sway, including Married at First Sight and Farmer Wants a Wife recaps, along with Wally Lewis and Delta Goodrem’s weddings and the high-profile breakup of The Block’s Jess and Norm.

In sport, NRL’s bullying controversy involving Lachlan Galvin, the Piastri F1 wins and Tim Tszyu’s boxing appearances dominated reader interest.

But one of the bigger trends to emerge out of the latest Ipsos data was the massive spike in AI usage across the country, with 12.7 million Australians – or 57% of the population aged 14 and above – using an AI website or app in April. That figure is up 27.3% from March and 109.3% year-on-year.

Ipsos iris measured 74 different AI platforms in April, compared to just 29 a year ago. Usage was evenly split across genders, with 72% of people aged 14–24 engaging with AI tools, spending nearly double the average time per person. More than 1.7 million Australians aged 65+ also used AI sites and apps last month.

Overall, Australians spent more time online in April than ever before, averaging 4.9 hours per day, up 7.9% year-on-year, despite the month including fewer working days due to Easter and ANZAC Day.

The most visited content categories were social networking, search, technology, retail and entertainment. Travel, games, education and finance saw the strongest month-on-month growth, with travel in particular peaking during the Easter-school holidays period.

The strongest annual audience growth came from the careers (+6.3%), gaming (+5.0%), property (+4.6%) and travel (+3.9%) categories.

Ipsos iris is the official digital audience measurement currency endorsed by IAB Australia.