Pew Research Survey Reveals Over Half of Teens Use AI for Schoolwork, Many Parents Unaware

A Pew Research Center survey reveals that 54% of U.S. teens use AI chatbots for schoolwork, and 10% use them for almost all of their assignments. However, a significant perception gap exists: 64% of teens report using chatbots, while only 51% of parents believe their children do. While 80% of parents approve of using AI to search for information, only 18% approve of using it for emotional support, despite 12% of teens doing so. Parental attitudes toward acceptable AI uses vary significantly by household income and race.

Teen AI chatbot usage

• ▪One in 10 U.S. teens admits to using AI chatbots for all or most of their schoolwork
• ▪Twelve percent of U.S. teens have turned to AI chatbots for emotional support or advice
• ▪A Pew Research Center survey conducted from September 25 to October 9, 2025, found that 57% of U.S. teens use AI chatbots to search for information
• ▪Four in 10 U.S. teens use AI chatbots to summarize articles, books, or videos
• ▪The Pew Research Center survey found that 54% of U.S. teens use AI chatbots to help with schoolwork
• ▪Fifty-nine percent of U.S. teens believe that AI is regularly used to cheat in their school

Parent awareness gaps

• ▪While 64% of U.S. teens report using AI chatbots, only 51% of parents believe their teens use the technology
• ▪Close to three in 10 U.S. parents are not sure whether their teen uses AI chatbots

Parent-teen AI conversations

• ▪Just over half of U.S. parents, or 54%, report that they ever talk to their teen about AI chatbots
• ▪U.S. parents in higher-income households are more likely to have talked to their teen about chatbots than those in households earning less than $30,000

Acceptable chatbot uses

• ▪Eighty percent of U.S. parents approve of their teen using AI chatbots to search for information
• ▪Only 18% of U.S. parents approve of their teen getting emotional support or advice from an AI chatbot

Income-based parental attitudes

• ▪Three in 10 parents in lower-income households approve of their teen getting emotional support or advice from chatbots, a higher share than in middle- and upper-income households
• ▪Eighty-three percent of parents in households earning $75,000 or more annually approve of their teen using chatbots to search for information, compared to about 70% of parents earning less

Racial differences in acceptance

• ▪Sixty-five percent of Black parents approve of their teen getting news through chatbots, compared to about half of Hispanic or White parents
• ▪Black parents are more comfortable with their teen using chatbots for emotional support, advice, or summarizing materials than Hispanic or White parents