Survey Respondents Select AI Research Tasks More Than Direct Execution

Crypto survey respondents selected AI research tasks more often than direct execution, showing that using software to inform a trade was more common than choosing it to place trades.

MEXC conducted an online survey from Sept. 14 to 20, 2026, recruiting 3,708 valid respondents through its social media, app and website. The group was predominantly male and active in spot and futures trading. The survey provided no U.S.-specific usage breakdown, so it does not establish how common these practices are among American traders.

Among AI users, 54.3% selected summarizing news as a frequent task, while 48.6% selected market analysis and 38% selected finding trading opportunities. Direct execution was one of the most-used tasks for 7.6%. These figures describe respondents’ task selections, not how many orders AI placed or what share of trading it controlled. The survey’s broader AI-use measure combines research and trading; it should not be read as a rate of AI-driven execution.

Self-reported results also differed by task. Among AI users, 58.3% said AI improved their market research. For execution, 46% reported improvement, 30.9% no change and 23.1% worse results. The figures reflect respondents’ assessments, not independently measured trading performance.

Interest in automation changed when hypothetical safeguards were added. In a scenario with notifications and the option to pause trading or revoke access, 55% said they would allow AI trading. That share rose to 71.8% when the scenario added limits on funds, positions, leverage and losses. These answers measure stated willingness under hypothetical conditions, not actual use.

Separately, 53.1% of all respondents said they used AI at least weekly. That frequency figure does not specify whether their use involved research, trading recommendations or direct execution. Percentages use valid responses for the relevant question or group, and some survey questions allowed multiple selections.

The task-level results add detail to earlier coverage of the survey’s broader AI adoption findings. Because respondents were recruited through MEXC’s channels and the group consisted of active spot and futures traders, the findings describe this survey pool rather than a representative estimate of crypto users.