Messaging has overtaken the phone call as the default way Americans stay in touch, with more than two thirds now saying texting has replaced at least some of the calls they used to make, according to a new YouGov survey.
The February 2026 poll of 2,442 U.S. adults found that messaging leads all communication methods, with 85 percent of U.S. adults using text messaging or messaging apps multiple times per week, making it the leading channel across every generation and gender group , according to the YouGov report.
Calls decline while texts climb
Nearly seven in ten Americans (68%) say messaging has replaced at least some of the phone calls they used to make.
More than a third (37%) say messaging has replaced most of the calls they once relied on, while another 31% say it has replaced some calls, though they still call regularly. Only about one in five (19%) say messaging hasn’t really replaced calls, and just 4% report making more calls now than they used to.
Among communication channels tracked by YouGov, messaging is growing the fastest. Among users of each channel, 29% say they are messaging more than a year ago, compared with 9% who say less, the largest net increase across major communication methods.
Voice calls, by contrast, have stayed mostly flat, with calls still used regularly by 58% of adults, a substantial share that underscores calling’s continued relevance.
Younger adults lead the switch
The generational pattern is clear. Generational differences suggest the shift is most pronounced among younger adults. Millennials are the most likely to say messaging has replaced most of their calls (42%), compared with 39% of Gen Z and 31% of Baby Boomers and older.
The finding cuts against the common assumption that Gen Z alone is driving the retreat from voice calls. Millennials, now largely in their thirties and forties, appear to be the generation most thoroughly converted to text-first habits.
The trend fits into a longer documented pattern of smartphone dependence tracked by Pew Research Center, whose own 2026 fact sheet draws on findings from the National Public Opinion Reference Survey, a Center survey of 5,511 U.S. adults, conducted Jan. 30-June 18, 2026 , according to the Pew mobile fact sheet.
That research examines how reliant Americans have become on mobile devices for daily life, not just calling and texting but banking, navigation and news.
AI tools are not rewriting the conversation yet
Despite the rapid uptake of artificial intelligence elsewhere, messaging apps have been slower to change how people actually talk to each other.
AI adoption in messaging apps remains limited. Most Americans have not used built-in AI features, and among those who have, the primary use cases are writing, rewriting, and editing text messages rather than generating content.
In other words, people are using AI to polish what they already intended to say, not to have it compose their conversations outright.
YouGov researchers framed the overall trend as gradual rather than disruptive, noting that the way Americans stay in touch with one another has been evolving for years, from landlines to mobile calls, from SMS to a proliferating range of messaging apps, and now, tentatively, toward AI-assisted communication. But while the tools available have multiplied, behaviors change more gradually than the pace of product innovation might suggest.
Why the shift matters
The move away from live calls reshapes more than personal habits. It has implications for how businesses, schools and even families plan to reach people, since a missed text lands differently than an unanswered ring.
The pattern echoes other recent findings about how Americans manage daily contact, including frequent texting between parents and adult children.
It also raises broader questions about time spent on phones in the first place.
For now, the data suggests calling has not disappeared, but it has become the exception rather than the rule for a growing share of adults, particularly those who came of age alongside the smartphone itself.
