“Welcome, how can I help?” This may look familiar if you’ve used generative artificial intelligence (AI). Whether you’re currently using AI or not, you likely recognize that AI is affecting every industry, including education. For example, the 2025–2026 Education Insights report revealed that 40% of students admit using AI on assignments without permission. Based on this report and other news, it’s clear that AI in education is reshaping what it means to teach, learn, and engage. Let’s explore how schools can adapt now to prepare students for the future.
AI in Education Today
If a significant number of students are using AI to help them complete assignments without permission, are teachers aware of this? Yes, according to the 2025–2026 Education Insights report: 65% say they have caught their students doing so. Even if they haven’t caught students cheating using AI, teachers are aware that the potential exists.
Not all students have embraced AI in education, whether for cheating or for approved uses. Some are concerned that using AI will dull their critical-thinking skills, and others don’t find using AI to be fulfilling or a part of meaningful learning. Many students question the usefulness of the skills they’re currently learning based on what AI is already able to do. In fact, 70% of high school students surveyed for the Education Insights report agreed with the statement, “I believe the skills I’m learning will be something AI can do.” This belief may play a role in disengagement for some learners in the classroom.
Ultimately, the ease of student access to AI means that educators find themselves needing to find a balance between limiting misuse and exploring potential. Based on Education Insights report findings, educator familiarity with AI and AI tools may affect classroom usage:
- Only 49% of teachers report using AI to complete tasks at school
- Just 53% of teachers feel optimistic about AI’s possibilities
In contrast, 70% of the high school students who reported that they have used AI with approval believe it was helpful, saying they’ve been able to learn and complete schoolwork faster.
The Engagement Connection: Why AI Matters Beyond Technology
Research shows that engaged students learn and achieve more than peers who aren’t actively involved in their learning. Because engagement is so important, educators may wonder whether including AI in their classroom is a good idea. One challenge that AI presents is that it can complicate how teachers see and measure student engagement. For example, AI can make student thinking harder to observe where teachers only see the final output of completed assignments. And getting to that final output doesn’t mean that the student put in the necessary effort for deep learning to occur, like with traditional approaches to teaching and learning.
Challenges and Opportunities with AI in Education
Like many technological innovations, AI presents both risks and opportunities when students have access to it in the classroom. Primary risks come from misuse and include:
- Deliberately using AI in ways that are not approved or intended
- Convenient ways to plagiarize
- Overreliance on AI that stunts critical thinking
- Shortcuts that undermine authentic learning experiences
Notable opportunities include:
- Personalized learning
- Scaffolding when students need it
- Increased efficiency in completing assignments and research
- New forms of creativity and inquiry
Despite the risks, AI is here to stay, and educators are learning to define its role in teaching and learning. In doing so, they can guide students to use it thoughtfully so that it enhances, rather than replaces, meaningful engagement.
AI Strategies for Schools
Here are six recommended strategies to increase your chances of success:
- Establish clear policies and shared language for AI use
- Focus on process and thinking during assessment, not just output
- Teach AI literacy explicitly
- Design assignments that AI can’t easily solve
- Use AI to support differentiation and feedback
- Continuously evaluate and adapt practices
Note that you don’t have to figure all of this out on your own. Prominent companies can provide guidance and even work side by side with you to evaluate challenges, needs, and resources. For example, Norton, a leader in online safety, has joined the Digital Citizenship Initiative by Discovery Education and will offer free standards-aligned classroom resources supporting safe student engagement with AI.
Here’s what one teacher told us about AI in her classroom:
I always look for ways to engage students in using AI effectively—for example, to generate ideas, organize thoughts, and clarify questions—rather than relying on it to write papers or complete assignments.
Shaping the Future, Not Simply Reacting
Most likely, AI is already being used in your school or district’s classrooms, and its presence will only continue to grow as the technology develops. So the question about AI is “How do we best use it to enhance teaching and learning?” rather than “How do we deal with it?” As we’ve seen in our exploration of the state of AI in education, when educators approach it with clarity, creativity, and intentionality, they can turn disruption into opportunity.
There’s more about AI in education and a wealth of fascinating insights into student engagement in our full Education Insights 2025–2026 report!
