Six in ten UK teenagers say they currently use generative AI, and more than half have used it for schoolwork, according to a new Survation survey. The figures offer a useful snapshot of AI moving into everyday teenage life, not just the classroom debate about what might happen next.
Watch Desk analysis
What happened
Survation interviewed 2,087 UK teenagers aged 13 to 18 online between 2 and 17 July 2026. The survey found that 60% currently use generative AI; about a quarter of those users, 23%, use it daily or almost daily. Some 51% have used it for homework or coursework, up from 29% in Survation’s 2023 Teen Survey.
Use is not confined to schoolwork: among teenagers who use AI, 46% use it for entertainment and 43% for researching hobbies and interests. Survation also found that 28% are worried about AI, while 39% think AI tools should be banned for under-16s.
Why it matters
The homework figure makes this more than a survey about novelty. AI tools are already part of how many teenagers study, alongside entertainment and personal interests. That gives schools a practical question to tackle: how to help pupils use these tools well, rather than pretending they are waiting politely outside the classroom door.
The figures describe reported use, not whether the tools help teenagers learn or how accurately they answer. And this is a UK survey of 13-to-18-year-olds, not a universal measure of young people’s habits.
Our read
The clearest signal is the change in schoolwork use: 51%, up from 29% in 2023. That is a meaningful shift in two years, and a better starting point for the education debate than either panic or promises that AI will do everyone’s homework for them.
What to watch
- Whether schools respond with practical guidance on using AI for coursework.
- How teenagers’ reported use changes in future surveys.
- Whether later research measures learning outcomes, not just how often AI is used.
Discussion spark: Should schools teach teenagers how to use generative AI for coursework, or restrict it until they can show it improves learning?
Sources and evidence
- Source update (30 October 2026, 17:08 UTC)
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