As AI becomes an everyday essential, today’s kids are growing up as AI natives. But parents are cautious about AI’s influence on creativity, cognitive development and schooling – especially as they try to moderate technology in their children’s lives. Nevertheless, many schools and parents believe AI can accelerate learning through personalised lessons and adaptive toys that respond to kids’ interests. 

• The Personalised AI School: AI tools capable of creating tailored learning plans are becoming more common in classrooms, as noted in our Future Consumer Life Cycle 26/27: Gen Alpha. In China, government policy now mandates that AI is integrated in schools to personalise education and reduce urban-rural schooling gaps (as rural kids tend to have less access to top-notch teachers). Tools like China’s Squirrel AI analyse a student’s learning style through tests, identifying strengths and skill and knowledge gaps before creating a lesson plan tailored to the student. Students may watch short videos or participate in interactive lessons. Curricula are updated in real time (changing difficulty or pace) as students progress.
  
  Beyond core subjects, like maths and language, Squirrel AI also teaches creativity, social skills and problem-solving – which could benefit many kids who have learned how to socialise online and struggle with IRL (in real life) interactions. See 10 Youth Trends to Watch 26/27.
  
  Alongside AI tools, AI-embedded schools are also appearing in the US. Alpha Schools (private primary and secondary schools in cities across the US) have introduced an AI-driven education model. Pupils have two hours of screen-based individual learning daily, during which they cover all core curriculum subjects at their own pace (ensuring they meet educational standards). These lessons are tailored to each child’s subject comprehension, which is determined by periodic tests and by daily AI assessment of their learning progress.
  
  The rest of the day focuses on creativity, life skills and social projects, such as how to run a food truck, for instance. Students are led by teachers (dubbed ‘guides’) throughout the day to motivate and help them.

Teenagers are avid AI users: 51% of American teens (Common Sense Media, 2024) and 76% of European teens interact with chatbots occasionally or daily (Opeepl, 2025). Yet, many teens worry about AI’s impact on their wellbeing and learning. In response, AI companies, social media platforms and schools are introducing guardrails to protect teen users from AI’s potential developmental effects.

• Integrated Safety for Minors: AI firms are adding guardrails for teens after reports of chatbots encouraging self-harm. These protections come as 64% of 13- to 18-year-old Americans believe tech companies don’t prioritise their mental health (Common Sense Media, 2025). Meanwhile, California has announced legislation to block minors from using AI companions through age verification (asking for ID when creating an account). In November 2025, California-based AI company Character AI restricted access to its AI companions for users under 18.
  
  As we reported in The Brief, OpenAI has introduced parental controls on ChatGPT that should give parents the ability to block graphic, sexual and violent content. Meta is following suit with controls for its AI character chats, which let users create bots modelled on celebrities, cartoons or niche functions, like tarot readers. Parents will be able to monitor topics and prevent teens from interacting with characters they deem inappropriate (such as those sexual in nature, for instance). However, it remains to be seen if parental controls will shield teens from harmful content. Some critics already report that teens can easily avoid restrictions by creating new accounts.

AI is becoming a constant companion for adult Gen Zers, guiding life decisions, big and small. For this cohort, AI powers learning, fills work mentorship gaps and even helps forge friendships and romantic connections. As adoption accelerates, companies and educators must rethink how they support young adults in an AI-driven landscape with real-world and digital solutions.

• University Tools & AI Training: “AI systems are no longer just specialised research tools – they’re everyday academic companions,” according to American AI developer Anthropic. Use of LLMs in higher education is now near-universal: in China, only 1% of university students report never using AI for academic work (Mycos Institute, 2025), while 80% of college seniors in the US used AI for university in 2025, with 15% engaging with it more than once per day (Handshake, 2025).
  
  To encourage adoption among students and familiarise them with the capabilities of LLMs, AI companies are offering discounted paid-for subscriptions. OpenAI gave students in the US and Canada two months of free ChatGPT Plus during the 2025 exam period (March to May), while chatbots including Anthropic, X.AI (Elon Musk’s LLM Grok), Google AI and Perplexity (all US-based) rolled out similar deals. Also, OpenAI launched Study Mode in July 2025 – a tutor-like version of ChatGPT. Study Mode asks what the student wants to know and attempts to work towards an answer together. The feature was designed with input from educational experts at more than 40 institutions.
  
  Additionally, universities are preparing students for the AI-driven workforce of the future by adding AI literacy courses. In China, nearly all top 46 universities – including Renmin, Nanjing and Fudan universities – now offer general AI skills classes for all students.