A new study of nearly 4,000 UK teenagers reveals mixed views on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in education, with many students uncertain about where helpful support ends and cheating begins. While young people are broadly optimistic about AI’s potential in the classroom, the findings show they still place high value on teachers.
According to a new study exploring students’ perspectives on the role of AI in classrooms, teenagers are unclear over appropriate use of AI in their schoolwork.
Researchers at the University of Oxford questioned almost 4,000 13-18-year-olds across the UK, revealing the different approaches that young people take to using AI in their schoolwork, and what roles they see AI playing education – both for them and their teachers.
The report – ‘Navigating AI in Education: Pupils’ perspectives on the role of AI in the classroom’ – offers several key findings, including:
- Appropriate use of AI is a grey area: While only four in 10 (44 per cent) think it’s cheating to use AI to complete all of their homework, almost one in five also think it’s cheating to simply ask any AI tool to give them homework tips.
- Students are calling for more support from schools: Just 15 per cent of students stated they have been given enough guidance.
- 77 per cent would like to see their teachers use AI to support their class in lessons: Key areas include using AI for lesson planning, as well as to make complex work easier to understand.
- Pupils emphasise their teacher’s unique value:73 per cent pointed to a skill their teacher has which AI can never replace, such as personability, empathy, and human understanding.
- Young people do not use AI as a default for homework: The study found only one in four students (24 per cent) regularly seeking out AI tools for homework. In addition, one in three (34 per cent) only use AI tools to help with their homework if suggested by their teachers, compared to just 13 per cent who are influenced by their friends.
- Students are more worried than concerned about AI: Four in 10 students (39 per cent) are more excited than worried about the impact of AI on their education, compared to 16 per cent who said they were more concerned and less than one in three (30 per cent) who felt neither way.
- What helps students learn better when using AI? When asked what helps them learn more effectively when using AI, the majority expressed preferences for AI tools that suggested tasks they can do to help them understand the subject better (44 per cent) or asked them questions to help them reach the answer on their own (41 per cent), compared to just one in five wanting an AI tool to give them the answer straight away.
Most not using AI in written tasks
As part of the research, students were asked to complete a simple written exercise and offered the choice of using a generative AI tool if they wished. Of those who had access to AI, almost three quarters (72 per cent) decided not to use it. Of those who didn’t have access, less than a quarter (23 per cent) said they would have liked to have used an AI tool if they had been able to do so.
“Whilst the research highlights that the appropriate use of AI is still a grey area for students, it’s reassuring to see young people’s sophisticated attitude towards AI,” said Dr Alexandra Tomescu, Head of Product AI at Oxford University Press(OUP), a department of the University of Oxford.
“Both the research and qualitative studies show AI is not necessarily a default for all students, and despite being excited about its impact on their education they still inherently value the role of their teachers and look to their school for guidance. It’s vital therefore that we support teachers with the resources and tools they need to responsibly guide their pupils and harness AI’s potential in the classroom.”
Read the full report on ‘Navigating AI in Education’ at fdslive.oup.com/www.oup.com/oxed/research-reports/Navigating_AI_in_Education_Research_Report_June2026.pdf
INTERFACE August 2026