Alphabet-owned Waymo has expanded its driverless ride-hailing service across the U.S. in recent years, bringing autonomous vehicles to more cities and making them accessible to a growing number of Americans.
New YouGov BrandIndex data examines how Waymo's growing presence has been reflected in consumer perceptions between January 2024 and October 2026. The data shows substantial growth in awareness and consideration, even as overall impression has declined.
Waymo's brand awareness has more than quadrupled since January 2024
Waymo's Awareness score among U.S. adults has climbed from 10% at the beginning of January 2024 to 45% by October 12, 2026 – an increase of 35 percentage points.
Growth was gradual through 2024, with the Awareness score reaching 16% by year-end, before accelerating in mid-2025. The increase coincided with Waymo's expansion in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area, and the launch of rides through Uber in Atlanta in June. That month, Waymo also attracted national attention when several of its vehicles were set on fire during protests in Los Angeles.
The score reached 27% by September 2025 and ended the year at 30%.
A sharper increase followed in early 2026, with Awareness rising from 30% in January to 38% by March. During this period, Waymo launched public rides.
The score continued climbing to 45% by October 12, as Waymo expanded into additional markets in September.
Waymo's Impression score has fallen into negative territory
While more Americans are becoming familiar with the company, the brand's Impression score tells a different story.
Its net Impression score hovered around zero throughout 2024 and early 2025, before declining from approximately one point in May to -2 by August 2025. The decline coincided with growing safety scrutiny, including a May software recall affecting around 1,200 vehicles following low-speed collisions with stationary objects. Further concerns over vehicles passing stopped school buses prompted a federal investigation in October and another recall in December.
The score fell more sharply in early 2026, from around -3 in January to -7 by March, even as Awareness increased. Waymo faced further investigations into school-bus incidents and a collision involving a child near a school in Santa Monica. Another software recall followed in June, affecting nearly 4,000 vehicles after incidents involving freeway construction zones.
Impression fluctuated through the summer before reaching approximately -5 by October 12. While the safety incidents provide context, the data does not establish a direct link to the decline in consumer perceptions.
Consideration of Waymo has accelerated in 2026
Amid a growth in awareness but a decline in impression, Waymo's Consideration score has grown.
The score stood at 1% in January 2024 and fluctuated between 1% and 2% through much of 2024 and early 2025, ending 2025 at 2%.
The sharpest increase came in early 2026, when Consideration climbed from around 2% in January to 5% by April. As with Awareness, this coincided with Waymo's expansion into five additional metropolitan areas, making its services available to more potential riders.
Consideration subsequently fluctuated around 4% to 5% before rising again in September. By October 12, it stood at 5%, marking a statistically significant increase from the beginning of 2024.
Waymo's expanding U.S. presence has coincided with substantial gains in Awareness and Consideration. However, the data suggests that growing familiarity is not necessarily translating into more favourable perceptions of the brand.
Methodology:
YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. Waymo's Awareness score is based on the question: Which of the following brands have you ever heard of? Please select all that apply.
Waymo's Consideration score is based on the question: When you are in the market next to purchase or use travel or leisure services, from which of the following would you consider purchasing or using?
Scores are reported as percentages, based on daily surveys of US adults.
Waymo's Impression score is based on the question: Overall, of which of the following brands do you have a POSITIVE/NEGATIVE impression? Scores are reported as net scores from –100 to +100.
Data is weighted using a propensity scoring methodology with targets from the American Community Survey (ACS) to ensure representation by age, gender, race, education, and region. Figures are shown as a 12-week moving average between January 1, 2024 to October 12, 2026.
Image credit: Getty Images
