89% of US students now use AI for schoolwork, up 12% in one year

AI usage among U.S. students has surged dramatically, with 89 percent now using artificial intelligence tools for schoolwork—a jump from 77 percent in 2024, according to Quizlet’s 2025 How America Learns report. This represents part of a broader trend where 85 percent of teachers and students aged 14-22 now use AI in some capacity, up from 66 percent the previous year, signaling AI’s rapid integration into American education.

What you should know: Students are primarily using AI for three core academic functions that streamline their workload.

• Summarizing or synthesizing information leads usage at 56 percent, followed by conducting research at 46 percent and generating study guides at 45 percent.
• The Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan research organization, found that 26 percent of U.S. teens had used ChatGPT for schoolwork by January 2025, doubling from 13 percent in 2023.
• Usage patterns vary significantly by demographics, with older students, Black and Hispanic teens, and those most familiar with AI tools showing higher adoption rates.

Why this matters: College students are increasingly turning to AI as they juggle unprecedented academic and personal pressures.

• “College students are significantly more likely than high school students (82 percent vs. 73 percent) to have sacrificed sleep, personal time, or extracurricular activities because of homework,” Kurt Beidler, CEO of Quizlet, told Newsweek.
• “With the support of AI tools, students can reclaim time and streamline tasks, making their value immediately clear,” Beidler explained.

The big picture: Student acceptance of AI varies dramatically depending on the specific academic task.

• Teens find AI most acceptable for researching new topics, with 54 percent supporting this use case.
• Support drops significantly for math problems (29 percent) and essay writing (18 percent), suggesting students recognize ethical boundaries around academic integrity.
• Only 40 percent of respondents believe AI is used ethically and effectively in classrooms, with students showing the least confidence at 29 percent compared to parents at 46 percent and teachers at 57 percent.

What experts are saying: Industry leaders see AI’s educational potential while acknowledging serious developmental risks.

• “The sharp rise in AI adoption across classrooms tells us that what was once considered cutting-edge is now becoming second nature,” said Leyla Bilge, Global Head of Scam Research for Norton, a cybersecurity company.
• However, Bilge warned that “easy access to instant answers and AI-generated content can lead to intellectual passivity—undermining curiosity, problem-solving, and critical thinking.”
• “Students need to critically evaluate AI outputs, understand their limitations, and learn how to protect their personal data,” she emphasized.

Looking ahead: Educational leaders anticipate AI will drive more personalized learning experiences while requiring new digital literacy skills.

• Over 60 percent of respondents want digital methods to equal or exceed traditional learning approaches, citing flexibility and accessibility benefits.
• The top skills students, parents, and educators want schools to develop include critical thinking, financial literacy, mental health management, and creativity—areas where AI tools could play expanding roles.
• “We anticipate the future of education to become more personalized. We’re already seeing how AI can adapt in real time—identifying knowledge gaps, adjusting difficulty levels, and delivering the right content at the right moment,” Beidler noted.