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Well-being is one facet of the American experience that offers insight into consumer priorities. As CivicScience data continue to reveal, a shift in sentiment can impact how consumers approach key spending decisions. For businesses looking to better understand a constantly evolving economic landscape, keeping a pulse on these shifts can provide context for where Americans are and where they might be headed next.
The CivicScience Well-Being Index (WBI) records these changes in real time, shedding light on American well-being and offering clues as to how those changes may impact spending across industries.
In October, well-being among U.S. adults 18+ rose to 55.22, reversing several months of decline. The figure is up 1.29 points from September and 2.46 points from October 2025.
Adults aged 55+ led the increase, rising 1.90 points since September (from 59.39 to 61.29), while adults aged 35-54 rose 1.25 points (from 50.65 to 51.90). Adults aged 18-34 saw a smaller increase of 0.58 points (from 50.65 to 51.23)
The components of well-being help create a full picture of the American consumer. In October, every negative emotion declined, led by a 2.96-point drop in stress and a 2.17-point drop in worry. Sadness (-1.42) and fear (-0.62) also fell, while happiness (+0.40) and excitement (+0.30) saw modest increases.
Gen AI Non-Users Report Highest Well-Being
As AI becomes more embedded in how Americans work, search, and shop, well-being among generative AI (Gen AI) users and non-users continues to differ markedly. Gen AI users’ well-being has declined every quarter this year, falling from 53.30 in Q1 to 51.07 so far in Q4. Non-users, meanwhile, have stayed well above U.S. adults overall since Q2, reporting 57.38 so far this quarter. The gap between the two groups has grown from about two points in Q1 to more than six today.
Well-being is far from the only area AI is touching. CivicScience’s new Agentic Retail Report takes a deep dive into how it shapes the path to purchase, from product discovery to the final sale. To learn more and see how you can gain access to the full report, click here.
October marked the index’s first increase since June, with every negative component declining. The holidays have historically lifted the WBI, so the coming months will show whether that pattern holds this year and whether the gap between Gen AI users and non-users narrows or continues to widen.
