Research from American University’s Kogod School of Business shows that the share of business students who regularly use AI rose from 6.2% to 29% over three years. The findings were first shared with Axios.
Why it matters
While jeers at AI during last spring’s college commencements reflected anxiety about the technology, the data indicate most students are not avoiding AI. Instead, many view it as an important workplace skill and want clearer guidance on responsible use.
The big picture
Kogod’s survey suggests AI has moved from novelty to routine: more than 80% of students used AI academically in the past six months. Nearly one-third of students now use AI 11 or more times per week for school- or work-related tasks.
Some professors continue to ban AI outright, but employers are increasingly asking about it: the share of job interviews that included AI-related questions rose from 11.6% to 42.6% over the same three-year period.
Scope and caveats
The survey’s longitudinal span gives it useful insight into changing behavior, but it covers 483 business students at Kogod and may not represent all colleges.
Other surveys show similar trends: an Inside Higher Ed flash survey of 1,038 two- and four-year students found 85% used generative AI for coursework in the past 12 months. A Gallup poll in April reported that 57% of U.S. college students use AI at least weekly and one in five use it daily.
Concerns and expectations
Students do express concerns. In the Inside Higher Ed survey, 40% worried that AI reduces their and peers’ ability to think independently. More than half of Kogod students said they were concerned about academic integrity and AI use.
American University’s report highlights that students want clearer norms on AI use, ethical guidance, and instruction on how to preserve their own thinking while using AI tools.
How educators are responding
Casey Evans, interim dean of Kogod School of Business, told Axios the school has not seen large-scale resistance and is being deliberate rather than prescriptive about AI instruction. "They are really using AI as one of many tools in their toolbox," she said.
When ChatGPT first arrived, faculty focused on academic integrity and on making assignments "AI-proof." According to Evans, the school has moved past that phase and accepted that students will use AI. That shift required faculty to rethink their classroom roles and assessment methods. Evans described an exercise where instructors feed an AI-produced assignment to students, show that it earns a C, and then use it as a starting point to discuss how to improve the work to an A.
What to watch
The report found brainstorming was the most popular AI use case in college over the past three years. But prior research suggests brainstorming with AI can limit creative diversity: a Wharton study found people generated a broader variety of ideas when relying on their own thinking and web searches than when using ChatGPT alone.
Bottom line
Students may be ambivalent about an AI-shaped future, but they largely recognize the need to prepare for it and want structured, ethical instruction to use these tools effectively in the workplace.
