• 44 percent of students want AI banned from homework
• A quarter say AI can explain things better than teachers

Why spend ages writing an essay or doing calculations when AI can give me the answer in seconds? This is the question students are currently asking themselves, and many are opting for AI: just under a quarter (23 percent) admit that they hardly ever do their homework themselves anymore, but instead let artificial intelligence do it for them. However, this is also met with criticism: a total of 44 percent are calling for a ban on the use of AI for homework. Students are also divided on the use of AI in other areas: At 53 percent, a narrow majority believe that using AI at school would improve their performance. At the same time, 48 percent say that AI makes students stupid. These are the results of a representative survey of 502 secondary school students aged between 14 and 19 commissioned by the digital association Bitkom.

The survey also shows that a significant proportion of students consider AI to be better than their own parents or teachers when it comes to school matters. Almost one in three (31 percent) say that AI can help them with their homework better than their own parents. 23 percent say that AI can explain things to them better than their teachers. ‘Used correctly, AI can be an important tool for supporting students individually in their learning and also for reducing the workload of teachers,’ says Rohleder. ‘The AI bans currently under discussion ignore the realities of schools and, incidentally, are almost impossible to enforce. The opposite approach is needed: training in the use of AI in schools and improving understanding of how AI works.’ This would also help to counter another phenomenon: at 47 percent, almost half of students say that developments surrounding AI make them feel anxious.

Note on methodology: The information is based on a survey conducted by Bitkom Research on behalf of the digital association Bitkom. A total of 502 school students in Germany aged between 14 and 19 were surveyed by telephone, including 327 users of AI. The survey took place between calendar weeks 9 and 15 of 2025. The survey is representative. The question was: ‘Which of the following statements about AI applications, e.g. ChatGPT or Google Gemini, apply to you or in your opinion?’