In the 2026 elections, artificial intelligence is the backdrop for just about everything.

The US and Anthropic reached a truce in recent days that lets the company roll out its powerful models to some users, the sort of on-the-fly decision-making that has candidates jockeying to shape how AI is regulated. Big AI companies are pouring money into 2026 state and federal races, dwarfing the cryptocurrency industry’s spending in 2024. And even as AI is fueling Americans’ anxiety about jobs and energy prices, it’s feeding them the ads and information that will shape their votes: According to one survey, 55% of US voters under the age of 45 are likely to use chatbots to learn about candidates and elections. 

On today’s Big Take podcast, Bloomberg’s Michael Shepard, a senior editor focusing on AI, joins David Gura to discuss what the first AI election means for our current moment.

We have a special Bloomberg subscription offer for podcast listeners at Bloomberg.com/podcastoffer.

Hosted by David Gura; Produced by Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Reported by Michael Shepard; Edited by Jeffrey Grocott.

Fact-checking by Victor Swezey, Julia Press and David Fox; Engineering by Emma Munger.

Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.