WASHINGTON, DC — More than half (57%) of U.S. college students use artificial intelligence in their classes at least weekly, and about 1 in 5 of them say they use it daily, according to a new study from the Lumina Foundation and Gallup’s 2026 State of Higher Education Survey. Male students report using AI more frequently than female students (27% vs. 17%), especially for everyday use. By major, students in business, technology, and engineering programs use AI most frequently compared to students in other fields. Rates of AI usage are similar among students earning associate and bachelor’s degrees.
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These results are from the Lumina Foundation and Gallup 2026 State of Higher Education Survey, conducted via web from October 2-31, 2025. The survey surveyed 1,433 U.S. students between the ages of 18 and 59 pursuing an associate’s degree and 2,368 U.S. students pursuing a bachelor’s degree. Respondents were recruited through an opt-in online panel.
Almost half of students say their school prevents or prohibits the use of AI.
AI is widely used among university students, even though there are many reported limitations to its use in the classroom. More than half of currently enrolled students say their school does not encourage (42%) or completely prohibits the use of AI (11%), and 4 in 10 say students are encouraged to use AI either freely (7%) or with restrictions (35%). Reported policies are generally consistent across associate’s and bachelor’s degree programs. The majority of students in technology, career, and business programs say their schools encourage the use of AI.
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Why students use AI: Understand complex content and save time
Making complex content easier to understand is cited by university students as the most important reason for using AI in their classrooms. Nearly nine in 10 students who use AI at least monthly say this is important to them, including 46% who rate it as very important. Saving time on assignments and improving performance remained the main motivators, with a majority saying these were also important reasons for using AI.
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Among students who use AI less or not at all, ethical concerns are the most commonly cited reason for not using AI, followed by school policies that discourage or prohibit the use of AI. Privacy and safety concerns are also frequently mentioned, while lack of familiarity with how to use AI is the least mentioned barrier.
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Main uses of student AI: class support, answer confirmation
The most common uses of AI focus on academic support and efficiency. 64% say they use AI daily or weekly to get help with lessons they don’t understand, and 60% report using AI frequently to check answers to homework or classroom assignments. More than half say they frequently use AI to edit or improve their writing (54%) or summarize lectures and notes (54%), and 49% use AI to generate new ideas, such as topics for papers.
Small businesses report using AI daily or weekly to research papers (45%), create images and visualizations (37%), write papers (36%), or get career advice (35%).
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conclusion
Taken together, the findings suggest that AI is already a routine part of college students’ academic lives, even though university instruction has not fully caught up. The majority of students use AI at least weekly, with similar adoption across two-year and four-year programs, and higher usage among men and students in business, technology, and engineering fields. However, around half of students say their school discourages or prohibits the use of AI, pointing to a gap between how students use these tools and how institutions formally approach AI.
Students expect their educational institutions to prepare them for the workforce after graduation, and that adoption will inevitably include AI. Schools that fail to provide such experiences may produce graduates who are underdeveloped in this increasingly relevant skill set. Additionally, the results highlight the importance of clearly defined and consistently communicated AI policies and instructional practices that reflect how students engage with technology for learning, efficiency, and academic support.
Learn more about how the Lumina Foundation and Gallup State Higher Education Research work.
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