New York (CNN) — Nearly a third of US teenagers say they use AI chatbots daily, a new study finds, shedding light on how young people are embracing a technology that’s raised critical safety concerns around mental health impacts and exposure to mature content for kids.
The Pew Research Center study, which marks the group’s first time surveying teens on their general AI chatbot use, found that nearly 70% of American teens have used a chatbot at least once. And among those who use AI chatbots daily, 16% said they did so several times a day or “almost constantly.”
AI chatbots have been pitched as learning and schoolwork tools for young people, but some teens have also turned to them for companionship or romantic relationships. That’s contributed to questions about whether young people should use chatbots in the first place. Some experts have worried that their use even in a learning context could stunt development.
Pew surveyed nearly 1,500 US teens between the ages of 13 and 17 for the report, and the pool was designed to be representative across gender, age, race and ethnicity, and household income.
ChatGPT was by far the most popular AI chatbot, with more than half of teens reporting having used it. The other top players were Google’s Gemini, Meta AI, Microsoft’s Copilot, Character.AI and Anthropic’s Claude, in that order.
A nearly equal proportion of girls and boys — 64% and 63%, respectively — say they’ve used an AI chatbot. Teens ages 15 to 17 are slightly more likely (68%) to say they’ve used chatbots than those ages 13 to 14 (57%). And usage increases slightly as household income goes up, the survey found.
Just shy of 70% of Black and Hispanic teens say they’ve used an AI chatbot, slightly higher than the 58% of White teens who say the same.
The findings come after two of the major AI firms, OpenAI and Character.AI, have faced lawsuits from families who alleged the apps played a role in their teens’ suicides or mental health issues. OpenAI subsequently said it would roll out parental controls and age restrictions. And Character.AI has stopped allowing teens to engage in back-and-forth conversations with its AI-generated characters.
Meta also came under fire earlier this year after reports emerged that its AI chatbot would engage in sexual conversations with minors. The company said it had updated its policies and next year will give parents the ability to block teens from chatting with AI characters on Instagram.
At least one online safety group, Common Sense Media, has advised parents not to allow children under 18 to use companion-like AI chatbots, saying they pose “unacceptable risks” to young people.
Some experts have also raised concerns that the use of AI for schoolwork could encourage cheating, although others say the technology can provide more personalized learning support.
Meanwhile, AI companies have pushed to get their chatbots into schools. OpenAI, Microsoft and Anthropic have all rolled out tools for students and teachers. Earlier this year, the companies also partnered with teachers unions to launch an AI instruction academy for educators.
Microsoft, in particular, has sought to position its Copilot as the safest choice for parents, with AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman telling CNN in October that it will never allow romantic or sexual conversations for adults or children.
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Clare Duffy and CNN
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