By Colleen McClain, Monica Anderson, Olivia Sidoti and William Bishop
Pew Research Center

A majority of U.S. teenagers say they use AI chatbots, including about 3 in 10 who do so daily. But what are they using them for? And how do they think AI will impact their lives?

Teens turn to chatbots such as ChatGPT, Copilot and Character.ai for a variety of things – but information seeking and schoolwork top the list, while “for fun” is not far behind:

  • More than half of teens say they have used chatbots to search for information (57%) or get help with schoolwork (54%).
  • And 47% say they’ve done so for fun or entertainment.

About 4 in 10 report using chatbots to summarize articles, books or videos or create or edit images or videos. And about 1 in 5 say they use chatbots to get news, according to Pew Research Center’s survey of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 conducted Sept. 25-Oct. 9, 2025.

Concerns about young people using chatbots for companionship have caught the attention of parents, advocates and lawmakers. The Pew survey finds some teens are using chatbots in more personal ways: 16% of teens say they have used chatbots to have casual conversations, and 12% say they’ve used these tools to get emotional support or advice. Still, majorities of teens report not doing these things.

Teens, Schoolwork and AI

Helping with schoolwork ranks among the top reasons for teen chatbot use in the survey. As schools move quickly to craft AI policies, students are already tapping into these tools for assignments. To that end, teens were asked the following questions:

  • How much of their schoolwork do chatbots help with?
  • What tasks do they use it for?
  • Do they find chatbots helpful for schoolwork?
  • In their school, how common do they think cheating with AI is?

For a minority of teens, chatbots have become a go-to tool for much of their schoolwork, with 1 in 10 saying they do all or most of their schoolwork with chatbots’ help.

Larger shares say they do some (21%) or a little (23%) of their schoolwork with the help of a chatbot. Another 45% haven’t used them in this way.

When it comes to how teens are using chatbots for school:

  • About 4 in 10 or more report having used them to get help researching a topic or solving math problems.
  • By comparison, teens are less likely to turn to AI for help editing something they wrote. Still, 35% of teens say they have done this.

Teens are far more likely to say chatbots are helpful for schoolwork, rather than unhelpful.

In fact, about a quarter of all teens say chatbots have been extremely or very helpful for completing their schoolwork, and another 25% say they’ve been somewhat helpful.

Just 3% say these tools were of little to no help.

From what counts as cheating to trouble detecting it, the rise of AI in classrooms has posed a thorny issue for teachers. The Pew survey shows that many teens think cheating with AI has become a regular feature of student life.

A majority of teens (59%) think using AI to cheat is a regular occurrence at their school – happening at least somewhat often. This includes about a third who say it happens extremely or very often.

Another 14% of teens say students at their school rarely or never cheat using AI chatbots.

Still, some teens are unsure if this happens (15%).

Teens who have used chatbots for schoolwork help are especially likely to think cheating is a regular occurrence. About three-quarters (76%) of this group say students at their school use chatbots to cheat at least sometimes.

How Teens See AI’s Impact

Along with understanding how teens are using chatbots, they were also asked questions about their predictions for AI’s impact on them and society.

Teens tend to view the impact of AI on their own lives more positively than negatively. While 36% say it’ll have a positive impact on them personally over the next 20 years, far fewer (15%) say this effect will be negative.

Still, teens are more critical of its effect on society more broadly. While 15% of teens think AI will have a negative impact on them personally over the next 20 years, that share rises to 26% when that same question is framed around society.

There are also gaps – though more modest – when looking at the positive side of AI. Teens are somewhat more likely to say AI will have a positive impact on them than on society (36% compared with 31%).

Still, similar shares of teens expect AI to have an equally positive or negative effect on both them and society. And some remain uncertain: 8% say they are unsure about AI’s impact on society over the next 20 years, while 17% say the same about its personal impact.

The full report can be viewed HERE.