Teens Who Use AI for Schoolwork Are Handing Off Critical Thinking, Common Sense Media Research Finds

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 18, 2026—Common Sense Media's Youth AI Safety Institute today released a nationally representative survey of U.S. teens, who were asked how they use AI for schoolwork. The results show AI is already in education spaces, but training in AI literacy is lagging behind.

The findings from "Teens in the AI Era: Schoolwork and Skills That Matter" offer unique insight on how high school students are incorporating AI into their daily classwork, often without any guardrails. While students are aware that AI use can threaten learning, 70% report using AI for schoolwork, and nearly two-thirds of those who say they're using it do so in ways that offload critical thinking.

The survey's other key findings include:

• Teens are handing off thinking to AI. Among teens who use AI, 63% say they get an answer to their schoolwork from AI, whether they use it as-is (25%), rewrite it to sound like them (31%), or improve it with what they know (35%).
• Few teens are being taught AI literacy. Only 27% of teens say a teacher has ever talked with them about what AI is and how it works; 73% say teachers have not.
• Bans don't seem to be closing AI safety gaps. Among teens who use AI for schoolwork, 44% have had an AI tool blocked on a school network or device, and 59% of those teens just switched to a personal device afterward—where there's even less support.
• Teens see the cost themselves. Among those who use AI, 38% say having it leads them to generate fewer of their own ideas, and 39% say they feel like they're missing out on learning when they use AI to complete assignments.
• Teens report using AI in more nuanced ways than the cheating debate suggests. Sixty-six percent who use AI say it helps them understand schoolwork, not just finish it faster. Asked which skills matter most for the future, teens named human skills that AI can't or shouldn't replace, such as working well with others (55%), fact-checking and critical thinking (50%), and reading and understanding complex information (48%).

"Students understand that AI threatens learning, but the reality is that it is too tempting and convenient for them to look the other way," said Common Sense Media CEO Jim Steyer. "AI will continue to be a prominent force in teens' lives, both in and out of school. The question is whether adults can provide them with the skills they need to use it responsibly."

To help close the gap, Common Sense Media also launched today a new Digital Literacy & Well-Being Curriculum built to help students think critically in a digital world.

Common Sense Media also offers family resources for AI, which include guidance by age, a toolkit for using AI wisely with schoolwork, and insights into how to help kids stay safe with Google's AI answers.

About the Youth AI Safety Institute and Common Sense Media

The Youth AI Safety Institute sets standards, conducts research, and independently tests the AI products children use most. It's part of Common Sense Media, the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of kids and families by providing the research-backed information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in the age of apps, algorithms, and AI. We rate, educate, and advocate to protect and prepare kids online. Our ratings, research, and resources reach more than 150 million users globally, over 1.4 million educators, and more than 100,000 schools worldwide every year.

The Youth AI Safety Institute is funded by both philanthropy and industry, including the makers of some of the technologies it evaluates. The Institute is solely responsible for its standards, research, and evaluations, and maintains complete editorial independence over published results.