Report Section:
AI and young people’s everyday lives, learning and emotional wellbeing.
How are young people using AI?
Almost all (97%) of children and young people of all ages from 8 to 17 have used AI, and many use a wide range of AI tools on a weekly, and even daily, basis.
Voice assistants (e.g. Alexa, Siri) and AI in search engines (e.g. AI summaries on Google) are the two types of AI tools most frequently used by young people, with over two thirds (69%) using voice assistants at least once a week and over a third (39%) using them at least once a day. Even 88% of 8-year-olds have used voice assistants, with over a quarter (28%) of children this age using them every day. Stand-alone AI apps or services (e.g. ChatGPT) are also used by around a third of young people (30%) aged 8 to 17 at least once per week, including by around a quarter (24%) of younger children, aged 8 to 12, weekly. Relatively few young people say they have never used AI tools (see graph below).
Young people use AI tools for a wide range of things in their everyday life, including for studying, fun, gaming, creativity, or as practical tools for daily living. Some are using AI tools for emotional support. The two things young people are most likely to say they use AI tools for are to help with their homework or studying (54%) or for fun or to play (50%). Use of AI for homework or studying increases with age, with 60% of 13 to 17-year-olds citing this, compared to just under half (47%) of 8 to 12-year-olds. Over a third of young people also use AI tools for help in online games (35%), though boys (45%) are significantly more likely to do this than girls (26%). Over a third of young people also AI tools creatively – to make or edit music, videos or pictures (34%); or to help with everyday things (34%), such as setting timers, turning off lights, or checking the weather. A smaller but significant number of young people say they use AI tools for emotional support. Almost one in six young people (17%) use AI tools for advice or support with personal issues; almost one in seven (14%) use AI tools to talk about things they don’t feel they can talk to anyone else about; and more than one in ten (12%) use AI tools for friendship or companionship.
For many young people, their use of AI tools is increasing. Over half (52%) of young people say they are using AI more than they were six months ago, though over a third (38%) say they are using them about the same amount. Given this increasing use, it is especially important to further understand young people’s perspectives on the ubiquity of AI. Our qualitative research indicates that many young people have questions or concerns about this topic, which is relevant not only for those young people that use AI directly, but for all young people, as AI becomes increasingly integrated and even seemingly unavoidable.
Opportunities and Risks
Most young people believe that AI can have a positive impact – that it can be used for good; make their everyday life easier; help them learn; and be a tool for social interaction and even emotional support.
The overwhelming majority of young people – 80% – have seen AI used in positive ways and over half (54%) think AI can help make the world a better place. 58% of young people say that AI makes their life better and, in fact, only 12% disagree with this statement. Almost half (48%) say that AI is an important part of their everyday life. That said, around a quarter have mixed feelings, with 26% saying they neither agree nor disagree that AI makes their life better, and 25% saying they neither agree nor disagree that AI is an important part of their everyday life. This potentially highlights the range of perspectives young people have around AI technology.
What is clear, however, is that most young people see AI tools as useful. 71% of young people say AI saves them lots of time, and 64% of young people say AI is the best way to get advice quickly. Most are also positive about AI as a tool for knowledge, with almost three quarters (74%) saying they have learnt something new from AI. Interestingly, by comparison, only 30% of parents and carers say they think AI has helped their child learn something new, indicating that some may not be aware that their children are using AI tools in this way, or that they are less likely to perceive AI tools as useful to their children in this way.
Many young people are also using AI tools to help them with social interaction. Almost half (45%) of young people agree with the idea that AI is a good way to practice communicating with people their age, for example drafting tricky messages. By comparison, only 17% disagree with this and a quarter (25%) are unsure – neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Around a third (32%) of young people use AI to help write messages or texts.
Over a third of young people hold positive opinions about AI as a tool for emotional support. More than two in five (41%) think that AI can be a great source of emotional support and over a third (34%) say AI can help with mental health and feelings. This important topic is explored further later in the report.
As well as feeling AI can have a positive impact, many young people, and their parents and carers, have concerns and questions about AI, including around young people’s learning, creativity, and future careers.
A third (33%) of parents are carers say they are worried about the impact of AI on their child’s learning and thinking development. An even higher number of young people – almost half (49%) – think AI makes people their age less creative. Older children are more likely to think this is the case, with 42% of 8 to 10-year-olds stating this, increasing to almost half (48%) of 11 to 14-year-olds, and over half (56%) of 15 to 17-year-olds. Over a third of young people (35%) think AI makes them less creative, personally. This data highlights how important is it to talk with young people and their parents and carers to better understand the impact that ready access to knowledge and creative ideas through AI tools, may be having on the independent thinking and creativity of young people.
Young people have mixed feelings on the impact of AI on their future job prospects, and many parents and carers are concerned. Almost three quarters of young people (73%) think knowing how to use AI will help them with jobs when they are an adult. However, over half (52%) are also worried about AI changing what jobs they can do when they are an adult. This said, over one in five young people (21%) neither agree nor disagree that they are worried about this – an uncertainty which perhaps comes from the rapidly changing nature of AI technology. Parents and carers are more concerned about this issue than their children. 60% are worried about how AI may affect their child’s future job prospects, including almost a quarter (23%) who are “very worried”.
A significant number of young people are worried about the negative impact of AI on the environment. Over a third (35%) of 13 to 17-year-olds are worried about AI being bad for the environment, and an even higher 40% of 8 to 12-year-olds are worried about this. In both cases, over a quarter (26% of 8 to 12-year-olds and 27% of 13 to 17-year-olds), neither agree nor disagree that they are worried. However, the picture is complicated, as the number of young people who think that AI is bad for the environment is lower: just over one fifth (22%) of teens (aged 13-17) think that AI is bad for the environment, compared to 21% of 8 to 12-year-olds. A slightly higher number – 24% of 8 to 12-year-olds and 26% of 13 to 17-year-olds – are unsure. This data suggests scope for further exploration of young people’s awareness and understanding of the environmental impact of AI, and how this may affect them and their peers now, and in the future.
studying and schoolwork
Use of AI is a significant part of studying and schoolwork for most young people of all ages, but especially for teens. Almost three quarters (73%) of young people say that AI is helpful when they are revising and studying, with over two thirds (65%) of 8 to 12-year-olds saying this is the case compared to an even higher 80% of 13 to 17-year-olds. Added to this, over two thirds of 13 to 17-year-olds (69%) feel like people their age “rely heavily” on AI for studying and homework, with only 10% disagreeing that this is the case. Similarly, almost two thirds of 8 to 12-year-olds (61%), feel like people their age “use AI a lot” for studying and homework, with only 12% disagreeing. Interestingly, while so many young people say that AI is an important part of studying and schoolwork for themselves and their peers, only around one third (31%) of parents and carers think their child has used AI to help with homework. This suggests that there is scope for opening up more conversations at home and between schools and families about how young people are using AI for studying and schoolwork.
Some young people are relying completely on AI to do schoolwork for them and many are worried about their peers doing this. Almost a third (31%) of young people say they use AI to do their homework or schoolwork for them and half (50%) of young people have seen people their age using AI to do this. The likelihood of young people having seen this increases steadily with age, from 39% among 8- to 10-year-olds, to just over half (51%) of 11 to 14-year-olds, and well over half (59%) of 15 to 17-year-olds. Over a third (39%) of young people are worried about people their age using AI to do their school or homework for them and parents and carers are even more concerned, with over half (51%) saying they are worried about their child using AI to do their homework for them. Parents and carers have mixed views over the extent to which they are concerned about extensive use of AI for studying. While over half (56%) say they are worried about their child relying heavily on AI for studying and schoolwork, around one in five (21%) are unsure, again suggesting more scope for conversations between parents and their children to better understand how they use AI for studying and homework.
Our research indicates that AI is having an impact on trust between pupils and schools. Over half of young people (53%) are worried that their school may think that they used AI for their work when they didn’t. Both younger and older children are almost equally likely to be worried about this, with 51% of 8 to 12-year-olds saying it worries them, compared to 54% of 13 to 17-year-olds. Added to this, 40% of 8 to 17-year-olds say they want clearer or easy-to-understand rules at school about when it’s OK to use AI for schoolwork. Together this data highlights a positive opportunity for schools to open up dialogue with their students about appropriate and responsible use of AI for studying and homework, so that they can work together to agree on guidance and practices that work in their settings.
AI as a source of emotional support
Our research suggests that a significant number of young people of all ages are turning to AI as a source of emotional support or for help with personal issues. Many feel that this can have a positive impact, but young people, and their parents and carers, also have some worries about the potential for relying too heavily on AI for emotional support.
41% of teens (13- to 17-year-olds) feel like people their age rely heavily on AI for emotional support or help with personal issues, compared to a much lower 23% who disagree that this is the case. Similarly, among younger children, over a third (39%) of 8 to 12-year-olds feel like people their age use AI a lot when they feel sad or need help. Over a quarter (27%) of young people have actually seen people their age using AI to get advice, instead of talking to their friends or family. The likelihood of this increases slightly with age, from 23% of 8 to 10-year-olds compared to 31% of 15 to 17-year-olds.
Many young people hold positive opinions about AI as a tool for emotional support. More than two in five (41%) think that AI can be a great source of emotional support and over a third (34%) say AI can help with mental health and feelings. However, a smaller but significant number are unsure, with almost a quarter (24%) neither agreeing nor disagreeing that AI can be a great source of emotional support and over a quarter (28%) neither agreeing nor disagreeing that AI can help with mental health and feelings. Reflecting on their personal experience, over a third (39%) say that AI can make them feel better when they are sad or worried – notably higher than the 29% who disagree that this is the case, though again, a significant number (22%) neither agree nor disagree on this. Almost a third (31%) of young people go further to say they use an AI companion or chatbot that they think of as a friend.
This range of perspectives among young people on AI as a tool for emotional support could be related to the fact that a significant number of young people are worried about their peers getting too close to AI. Almost half (45%) of young people are worried about people their age getting really close to AI, like it’s a friend. Around the same number of parents and carers are worried about this too. 49% say they are worried about their child forming emotional connections with AI, and 52% are worried about their child relying heavily on AI for emotional support or help with personal issues, including over one in five (21%) who are “very worried” about this.
It is important to recognise that the majority of young people do still prefer talking to a real person, with 61% disagreeing that they would rather talk to AI about a personal problem than talk to a real person. However, over one in five (21%) do say they would rather talk to AI in this scenario. This number, as well as the high level of concern among both young people and parents and carers about young people potentially relying too heavily on AI for emotional support, highlight that we need to understand this area better so that we can offer young people, and their parents and carers, the right guidance and support. How does a helpful tool or sounding board turn into an unhealthy dependency? What signs should parents and carers look for and how can they start a productive conversation with their children about it? What can AI service providers do here? These, and other questions, need deeper exploration to inform how we support young people and their parents and carers.