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11h ago

Three-Quarters of Young Canadians Now Use Generative AI for School, Survey Finds Gains With Learning Trade‑Offs

KPMG Canada urges schools to embed AI literacy to protect critical thinking.

More Canadian students are turning to AI for schoolwork, but also worried about whether it's cheating and impacting their critical thinking.
English teacher Casey Cuny helps a student input a prompt into ChatGPT at Valencia High School in Santa Clarita, California, Aug. 27, 2025. A September survey by Copyleaks found that 90% of respondents said they use AI for school work.
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Overview

  • Use of generative AI among young Canadians rose to nearly 75 percent from 59 percent last year, according to KPMG Canada's latest survey.
  • Seven in 10 respondents say their grades improved after using AI, yet 66 percent believe they are learning or retaining less and nearly half report weaker critical thinking.
  • More than half say heavy AI use feels like cheating and they worry about being caught, reflecting ongoing uncertainty about acceptable use.
  • Students most often use AI for research (63 percent), idea generation (62 percent), editing or review (43 percent) and summarizing (39 percent), with 70 percent using it for resumes.
  • Nearly 80 percent want courses on ethical and safe AI use, as educators and experts call for clearer rules and redesigned assessments such as oral presentations and in‑class work.