60% of U.S. Teens Have Tried AI Chatbots, 11.4% Use Them Daily

https://www.fau.edu/newsdesk/articles/chatbot-ai-study-teens

“Study Snapshot: As conversational artificial intelligence chatbots (CAI chatbots) become increasingly embedded in the daily lives of American teens, a new national study provides one of the first large-scale assessments of how widely these tools are used – and the risks they may pose. Based on a nationally representative survey of 3,466 adolescents ages 13 to 17 conducted by researchers from Florida Atlantic University and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, the study found that 60.2% of teens have used a CAI chatbot at least once or twice, while 11.4% use them every day or nearly every day. Usage varied across demographic groups, with higher overall engagement among males and some racial groups.

Among teens who had used chatbots, the most common motivation was entertainment, but many also relied on them for advice, friendship, emotional support and romantic companionship. At the same time, nearly half of users reported at least one harmful experience, including uncomfortable requests for personal information, manipulation, false information and encouragement of risky or unsafe behaviors. Researchers found that these risks were not evenly distributed across all youth, raising concerns about vulnerability and the need for stronger safeguards across all stakeholders as AI becomes more deeply integrated into adolescent life.”