95% of US Students Are Using AI to Make Assignments

According to a survey conducted by Clarivate, 95 percent of undergraduate and graduate students in the United States are utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) for their assignments and projects. This represents a significant increase from 45 percent in 2024. The survey, which polled over 500 students, revealed that AI is being employed for a variety of purposes.

Around 61 percent of students utilized AI to summarize articles, while an equal proportion used it to generate research ideas. Writing and editing papers was another common use of AI, reported by 51 percent of students.

Despite the widespread use of AI, the survey's findings should not be interpreted as evidence that 95 percent of all U.S. students are relying on chatbots to complete entire assignments. The students surveyed reported using AI for several specific tasks, indicating a nuanced application of the technology.

The survey also underscored the importance of verifying information generated by AI. Approximately 60 percent of undergraduate students and 64 percent of graduate students said they check AI-generated results most of the time or always. This practice is crucial as about 60 percent of undergraduates and 64 percent of graduate students reported encountering inaccurate information and fabricated citations while using AI tools.

Additionally, research from the University of Copenhagen examined 27 language models and found that chatbot responses provided less diverse information than traditional search engine results. This finding raises concerns about the potential limitations of AI in terms of information diversity. However, it is important to note that this study does not suggest that AI's use directly diminishes users' intelligence.