How Many Students are Using AI in Classrooms?

Vivienne Chen -

AI is no longer a futuristic concept in education – it is already transforming how students learn and how their teachers teach. Before looking ahead at what AI might mean for the future of education, it’s worth acknowledging how many students are already engaging with AI today. 

After all, in 2025, it’s no longer a niche but is a fast-growing area. Here, we look at how AI tools are currently being used in schools by both students and teachers, and look at what this could mean for the immediate future. 

How Many Students are Using AI in the Classroom in 2025? 

According to AIPRM, nearly half (44%) of children are actively experimenting with generative AI, with over half (54%) using it as an aid for schoolwork and homework assignments. Whether it’s to save time, improve their understanding, or simply for creativity, AI is becoming more of a feature in these students’ academic routines. 

Curiosity is a key part of it. Almost two-fifths (39%) of students are ‘playing’ with generative AI out of sheer desire to try it out. 

What’s interesting is that more than a third (34%) of students say AI is a good thing for education, as opposed to a fifth (20%) who perceive it as negative. This shows that the very nature of education is evolving as whatever students are interested in and engaging with outside the classroom inevitably influences how they learn within it.  

What are Students Using AI for? 

Students are using AI as a tool for accelerating their learning and improving the efficiency of their typical workflows. Specifically:

AI as a study sidekick

Students are using AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, Grammarly and Google Gemini to: 

  • Break down complex topics into plain English
  • Create personalized study plans
  • Summarize readings in seconds
  • Turn notes into flashcards and quizzes for exam prep 

A staggering 90% of students who use ChatGPT say it’s more beneficial than a tutor. This shows that AI isn’t replacing teachers but instead is filling in gaps where some students might need an extra hand, at their own pace and in their own way. 

Writing help for homework

Long before AI came along, students have always found ways to make homework easier through shortcuts (although previously that might have referred to online resources or summary websites). Now, students are using AI to: 

  • Improve their writing by refining grammar and clarity
  • Restructure and reword essays for better flow
  • Generate ideas and outlines when they’re stuck

However, 70% of educators believe that AI use in assignments automatically equates to plagiarism. Teaching students how to use AI as an aid (and not a shortcut) starts with acknowledging that there is an ongoing ambiguity around what actually constitutes plagiarism.  

More inclusive learning

AI is also helping to make school a more inclusive space for students with disabilities or language barriers. These students are using AI tools to: 

  • Translate lessons in real-time, breaking down language barriers
  • Turn text into speech, helping visually impaired students to follow along more easily
  • Summarize long texts, which simplifies information for easier comprehension

With 16% of the world’s populations living with disabilities (according to the WHO), AI has been a useful tool for making school a more equitable place.  

How are Teachers Using AI? 

While student adoption of AI is on the rise, teachers are also integrating AI into their workflow, mainly to reduce administrative burden: 

  • 50% of teachers use AI for lesson planning
  • 44% use AI for research 
  • 37% use AI to generate classroom materials like tests or assignments 
  • 65% track student progress using AI analytics. 

One of the most widely used tools are AI-driven educational games, which over half (51%) of teachers have said they have used. 

The Ethical Implications of AI in Education 

As AI becomes a core part of education, there are a few critical questions to be addressed: 

AI Can Get Things Wrong

LLMs like ChatGPT can sound confident, which can mask the fact that they’re not always correct. Since they come up with responses based on probabilities as opposed to verified knowledge, LLMs can sometimes give misleading or false information. 

Students need to learn how to fact-check AI-generated content instead of blindly trusting it. This is where AI literacy can come into play, as it gives students the ability to critically assess information – which extends beyond the classroom. 

Lack of Clear Guidelines

Since so many educators are worried about the plagiarism that can come with AI, schools need clear guidelines on acceptable AI use in schools (instead of banning AI). These policies are urgently needed but are can be difficult to conceptualize as technology develops so quickly.  

AI literacy means teaching students when and how to use ethically, and this needs to be prioritized over outright AI bans. This encourages students to leverage the information-gathering power that can come with AI instead of using LLMs as a replacement for their own critical thought. 

Data Privacy Questions

AI-powered education tools collect a ton of data around students, but the questions around who owns it are still unfolding. There are laws like FERPA and GDPR, but institutions need to be extra cautious about protecting students’ privacy. 

Getting the balance right between adopting innovation, while remaining security-conscious, will be key to ethical AI adoption in education. 

What Does This Mean for the Future of AI in Education? 

British education expert Sir Anthony Seldon has said that by 2027, AI will replace human teachers on a global scale. While that can seem like a far-fetched idea right now, the reality is that AI is already becoming more embedded into the classroom.

Rather than replacing teachers, AI is increasingly acting as a student assistant for students and a support tool for teachers. The main challenge moving forward will be making sure AI literacy is prioritized in education institutions, so that its benefits can be balanced with ethical considerations.

As we can see, AI is no longer an emerging trend in education. It is very much already here. With so many students actively using AI for learning, while teachers use it for efficiency, the focus is now better placed on how AI can be used (rather than whether it should be).