WASHINGTON, DC — 51% of Gen Z in the US report using generative artificial intelligence at least weekly, but negative sentiment towards generative artificial intelligence has increased over the past year. Excitement and expectations have declined while anger toward technology has increased. Even everyday AI users, who generally have positive views of AI, aren’t becoming more positive, according to a new study from the Walton Family Foundation, GSV Ventures, and Gallup.
Generation Z (people born between 1997 and 2012 and currently between the ages of 14 and 29) are not convinced that AI will enhance creativity or critical thinking, and a majority believe that learning in particular may come at a cost.
Employed Gen Zers have similar concerns about the workplace, with many saying the risks of AI outweigh its benefits and trusting AI-assisted work to be less than human-only outcomes.
Meanwhile, about half of Gen Z K-12 students believe they need to know how to use AI in their post-secondary education and future jobs. Nearly three in five students believe they will be well prepared to use AI on a daily basis after high school.
These findings are from a web survey conducted from February 24 to March 4, 2026 among a sample of 1,572 people ages 14 to 29 using a probability-based Gallup panel. this is the latest research Voices of Gen Z study.
AI implementation for Generation Z will essentially remain unchanged from 2025.
Generation Z’s use of generative AI in daily life has remained largely stable since March 2025. Nearly half (51%) of 14-29 year olds continue to say they use AI either daily (22%) or weekly (29%), while 11% report using AI monthly, 20% use it every few months, and 19% say they never use it. (In this study, generative AI is defined as a technology that can create new content based on what it tells it to do, such as writing, brainstorming, or creating images.)
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Gen Z K-12 students (56%) are more likely than Gen Z adults (48%) to say they use AI at least weekly.
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Negative sentiment towards AI is increasing
Over the past year, Gen Z sentiment toward AI has become significantly more negative in three of the four sentiments first measured in 2025. Gen Z’s strong agreement or agreement that they are excited about AI fell 14 points to 22%, while hope fell 9 points to 18% and anger increased 9 points to 31%. At the same time, anxiety about AI has remained steady at 42%.
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Curiosity, added to the list of emotions in this year’s survey, is now the most common emotion, felt by 49% of Gen Z.
Familiarity associated with more positive perceptions
Gen Z’s feelings about AI are closely related to how often they use it. Among everyday users, 69% are interested in the technology, 44% are excited, and 38% are excited. By contrast, among those who have never used AI, 28% are interested, 4% are excited, and 2% are hopeful.
Meanwhile, negative feelings toward AI are much more prevalent among non-users, with 60% reporting anxiety and 59% anger, compared to 28% and 18%, respectively, of daily users.
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But even the positivity of everyday users has dropped significantly over the past year. Gen Zers who report using AI every day are less excited (down 18 points) and have less high expectations for AI (down 11 points) than last year. Their anxiety and anger about AI is statistically similar to last year’s levels.
Skepticism about the usefulness of AI remains
Gen Z is less likely than they were in 2025 to believe that AI will help them learn and complete tasks more efficiently. The 56% of Gen Z who currently agree or strongly agree that AI tools can help them do their jobs more efficiently has decreased by 10 points since 2025, and the consensus that AI can accelerate learning has decreased by 7 points to 46%.
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A similar proportion of Gen Z believe that AI will either help (37% somewhat or a lot) or hurt (39% somewhat or a lot) their ability to find accurate information, while about a quarter think it won’t help either. At the same time, they are more likely to think that technology is harmful rather than helpful to their ability to come up with new ideas for themselves (38% harmful, 31% helpful) and think carefully about information (42% harmful, 25% helpful).
Gen Z is now less optimistic about AI improving their creativity and research skills than they were last year, with 11 and 6 percentage points less likely to expect AI to improve their creativity and research skills, respectively.
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Gen Z also wonders if the short-term convenience of AI will come at the expense of its long-term development. Eight out of 10 Gen Zers say it is “very” (34%) or “somewhat” (46%) likely that the use of AI tools will make learning more difficult in the future.
Gen Z workers are wary of the benefits of AI
Employed Gen Zers are more than three times as likely to say the risks of AI in the workforce (48%) outweigh the potential benefits (48%) than vice versa (15%), and 37% think the two are about equal. This reflects a more negative outlook compared to a year ago, when 37% had higher risks and 20% higher returns.
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Gen Z workers have more trust in tasks completed without AI (69%) than in AI-assisted tasks (28%). Virtually no workers (3%) have high confidence in jobs created solely by AI. These findings are similar to last year’s findings.
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More and more students believe they need to know how to use AI and expect to be prepared.
52% of Gen Z K-12 students (up from 47% in 2025) agree or strongly agree that they need to know how to use AI if they go to college or take classes after high school. A similar number, 48%, believe they will need to know how to use AI in their future jobs and careers, statistically similar to last year’s findings.
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K-12 students’ confidence in their future preparedness is increasing, with 56% agreeing or strongly agreeing that they will have the skills needed to use AI in their daily lives after high school. This is an increase of 12 points from last year.
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The percentage of K-12 students who reported their school had AI rules jumped from 51% in 2025 to 74% in 2026. Access to AI tools from school computers increased from 36% to 49% over the same period. Among students whose school has a policy, 65% are now allowed to use AI in their schoolwork, up from 55% in 2025.
Still, only 28% of students say their school provides AI tools to use for schoolwork.
what it means
While Gen Z’s use of AI has remained largely stable, enthusiasm for AI has declined and skepticism has increased. Gen Z is questioning the impact of AI on their cognitive skills more broadly, especially in areas related to thinking, learning, and creativity. Concerns among Gen Z that AI will undermine skill development appear to outweigh the perceived efficiency gains. Fostering trust in AI among Gen Z will likely depend on demonstrating how AI can enhance, rather than replace, human talent.
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