AI chatbots have already become a major part of teen digital life. New Pew Research Center data shows 64% of U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 use AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Meta AI. About three in ten use chatbots on a daily basis.
The survey of 1,458 teens revealed that the adoption patterns are completely different from social media, with the income gap flipping in the opposite direction.
ChatGPT Is The Most Popular
ChatGPT dominates the space with 59% of teens using it. This figure is more than twice the next closest competitor: Gemini at 23%, followed by Meta AI at 20%. Microsoft Copilot is at 14%, Character.ai at 9%, and Claude at just 3%.
Read more: Teen Accounts Come to ChatGPT – Here’s What Parents Need to Know
The Meta figure is likely due to Meta AI being baked into Instagram, which is very popular among teens (far more than Facebook). The same Pew survey found 63% of teens use Instagram. This effectively cuts the need to download a separate app or make a new account to use this chatbot.
Income Patterns Opposite Those of Social Media
Black and Hispanic/Latino teens are early AI adopters. About 70% of both groups use chatbots. In contrast, only 58% of white teens use them. For daily use, the gap grows even wider: 35% for Black teens and 33% for Hispanic/Latino teens, versus only 22% of white teens.
But income completely flips from social media patterns. Chatbot usage skews toward wealthier households: 66% of teens in households earning $75,000 or more use them. The figure drops to 56% for households under $30,000. This pattern is the exact opposite of TikTok and Instagram, where lower-income teens dominate. The middle-income group ($30,000-$74,999) sits in between at 60% usage.
The report also says that older teens (15-17) are more likely to use chatbots (68%) than younger teens (13-14) at 57%. They're also more likely to use them daily: 31% compared to 24%.
Read more: Holiday Shopping on ChatGPT Raises Scam Concerns
There's no huge gender disparity, however, with usage being basically equal between boys (63%) and girls (64%). Urban teens (65%) and suburban teens (67%) use chatbots slightly more than rural teens (57%). The latter could be the result of urban areas generally having better internet access, but Pew doesn't suggest explanations behind any of the trends.
What's Going On Here?
The income gap is interesting. Higher-income teens might be using chatbots more for homework and academic work, likely because of better device access or access to paid subscriptions because of the higher income. Lower-income teens seem to spend more time on free, easier-to-access social platforms.
Meta getting 20% of the teen chatbot market by embedding AI into Instagram, which almost two-thirds of teens already use, could show the advantage of invisible distribution.
Bottom Line
AI chatbots have already gone mainstream with teens, but unlike social media, the usage patterns show higher-income household teens are leading the way. This could have implications for educational equity.
[Image credits: Airam Dato-on via Pexels]
