Artificial intelligence has become a daily fixture in the lives of American children, according to the newly published The 2026 Common Sense Media Census: AI Use by Tweens and Teens. This national survey of 1,204 children highlights a significant gap between the rapid adoption of AI technology and the adult guidance needed to navigate it safely.
How Much Are They Using AI?
An overwhelming 86% of children aged 9 to 17 use or interact with AI platforms. Nearly one in four children use these tools every single day. Kids find it hard to stay away from AI: 20% of youth AI users (and 42% of daily youth AI users) report that it would be difficult to stop using AI for a single month.
What and Why?
Children use AI for a variety of academic, creative, and deeply personal reasons.
- 85% of young AI users rely on the technology to help complete their schoolwork or homework
- 89% use it for entertainment
- 75% use it to actively create images, videos, stories, music, or apps
Many children treat AI as a personal counselor.
- 57% have sought advice about their health or bodies
- 49% use it to plan future goals
- 40% use it to practice social skills
- 37% discuss their feelings or personal problems with a program.
In fact, 12% of users—and 27% of daily users—would consult an AI chatbot first for health advice before talking to a parent, teacher, or trusted adult.
Are We Talking About Safety?
Meaningful guidance is not keeping pace with adoption. The survey found that 44% of children have never had a conversation with a parent or guardian about safe AI use, and an identical 44% say their schools have never addressed the topic.
This lack of discussion leaves an AI literacy gap: only 35% of children correctly understand that AI cannot reliably tell the difference between true and false information. Safety concerns are real, as 17% of chatbot users have been shown inappropriate content, and more than half of those children never told an adult. Additionally, more than half of daily users report feeling lonely at least some of the time, compared to one-third of rare or non-users.
What Parents and Educators Can Do
Adults can help by taking steps to build a safe foundation:
- For Parents: Initiate regular conversations about AI safety. Since nearly half of children report never having this talk, breaking the silence and establishing an open dialogue ensures children turn to you, rather than an algorithm, for critical life and health decisions. Our post on AI literacy for families with young children, and this recent post on talking about AI “friendships” can be helpful.
- For Educators: Focus on expanding AI literacy. Schools can shift from basic rules to actively teaching students how to evaluate automated information, helping the 65% of students who currently struggle to identify AI generated inaccuracies. This post on news literacy in our AI era is a great place to start.