Study: 70% of Teens Now Use AI for Schoolwork
A new Common Sense Media survey finds 70% of US teens use AI for schoolwork, and most use it to get answers instead of thinking problems through themselves.
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A new Common Sense Media survey finds 70% of US teens use AI for schoolwork, and most use it to get answers instead of thinking problems through themselves.
Seven in ten US teenagers now use AI for their schoolwork. That is the headline finding from a new nationally representative survey by Common Sense Media of 1,017 teens aged 13 to 17, carried out by NORC at the University of Chicago in spring 2026.
The survey found that 70% of teens use AI for schoolwork. Among those teens, 63% said they use it to get answers rather than working their own way to the answer, and 25% take the AI answer as it is. But the picture is mixed: 77% of the same group said they also use AI for help without getting a direct answer, such as brainstorming, checking their work, or getting feedback on writing.
What worries researchers is what teens say they are losing. 38% said having AI available leads them to come up with fewer of their own ideas, and about the same share said they feel they are missing out on learning when they use AI to finish assignments.
Schools have not caught up with the shift. 73% of teens said they have never talked with a teacher about what AI is and how it works, and only a quarter have discussed how to tell whether AI information is accurate or trustworthy. That gap matters because AI tools can sound confident while being wrong, and teens need adults to show them how to check. Our guide to deepfakes and AI tricks aimed at teens explains why verifying what AI produces is a skill in itself.
Parents can help at home without banning the tools outright. Ask your teen to show you how they used AI on one assignment, and ask them to explain the final answer in their own words. Set a simple rule: AI can help them start or check their work, but the thinking has to be theirs. It also helps to know which apps they are using, so review your child's app permissions every month and talk through anything new together.
The teens in the survey seem to know what matters most. Asked to pick the skills that will matter most in their future, 55% chose working well with other people, while only 21% picked knowing how to use AI tools. AI can do the homework, but it cannot do the thinking for them.