84% of American Students Use AI. They’re Still Worried About What Comes Next.

Almost all American students (84 percent) use AI at least “a few times a year,” while two-thirds use it monthly, according to a recent survey of 11,443 high-achieving students conducted by the National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS). The survey also found that the percentage of students “not using AI at all” has dropped from 36 percent in 2024 to 6 percent in 2026, while almost half (49 percent) use AI daily or weekly. The most common usage of AI includes searching for information (55 percent), brainstorming (51 percent), and proofreading (31 percent).

Other similar surveys also suggest that AI use among students is becoming increasingly normalized. According to the College Board, the share of high school students reporting that they use generative AI tools for schoolwork rose from 79 percent in January 2025 to 84 percent in May 2025. Students are using these tools for routine academic tasks, including brainstorming ideas, editing or revising essays, conducting research, and finding sources.

The NSHSS survey also found that American students are confident about their future prospects. Nearly all (94 percent) of students are extremely, very, or somewhat confident about their future after graduating from college. Confidence about employment prospects specifically is high, with the majority of students (79 percent) expecting to secure a full-time job before graduating or within six months of graduation.

Despite this confidence in their future, students were more pessimistic about the impact of AI more broadly. More than half of respondents to the NSHSS survey (69 percent) say that AI will have a more negative than positive impact on society over the next decade, and 53 percent believe that AI will have an “extremely” or “very much” negative effect on their privacy and security over the next decade.

Anxiety around the impact of AI, especially on job losses, is widespread. According to a survey conducted by Pew Research Center, about one-third of workers (32 percent) say that AI will lead to fewer job opportunities for them in the long run. While 36 percent of workers say they feel hopeful about how AI could be used in the future, 33 percent said they feel overwhelmed.

Despite that anxiety, among workers who currently use AI in their jobs, four out of ten say it has been extremely or very helpful in allowing them to do things more quickly. Similarly, 29 percent say AI has helped improve the quality of their work.

The survey data reveal a disparity: While both workers and students are increasingly using AI and say the tool helps reduce the time it takes to complete tasks they were already doing, they fear what impact AI will have on society. 

When it comes to AI’s impact on job security, the fears of mass layoffs have not materialized so far. Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey data suggest firms are more likely to retrain workers or adjust hiring plans than to fire existing employees because of AI. Richard Deitz, economic policy adviser at the New York Fed, told PYMNTS that “layoffs have been almost nonexistent due to AI use.” Indeed, a 2026 Federal Reserve analysis concludes that “thus far, there is no evidence of a reduction in job postings for industries or firms which have higher levels of AI adoption.”

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has argued that much of the fear around AI comes from confusing a job with the tasks used to perform it. “The purpose of your job, and the tasks and tools that you use to do your job, are related, not the same,” Huang said. His point is not that AI will leave work untouched, but that automating tasks does not necessarily mean eliminating entire professions. As he has put it elsewhere, “You’re not going to lose your job to an AI, but you’re going to lose your job to someone who uses AI.”

Even where AI does spur job losses, the U.S. labor market is better able to deal with changes due to its labor market flexibility. Employers can terminate workers at any time and for almost any reason, while employees, too, can leave at any time, for any reason. That flexibility means that where there are job losses, the market is able to adjust far more quickly. A 2026 International Monetary Fund paper found that about 1 in 10 job postings in advanced economies now require at least one new skill, and these skills “often appear first in the United States.” Many are tech-related, with a growing share tied to AI, and new skills are associated with higher wages and employment in U.S. local labor markets.

America’s relatively flexible labor markets are probably part of the reason that emerging industries often start in America. As Pieter Garicano argues in Works in Progress, the stringent regulations on employment in European countries mean that companies shift away from industries that are susceptible to layoffs, such as experimental technologies and AI. Partly for this reason, compared to America, European economies are less conducive to innovation and experimentation. It also means that when there are disruptions, the economy is far less able to adapt, and the creation of new jobs is slower.

So while students in America may feel anxious about AI, they are already using it and are already among the best placed in the world to succeed with it.