AI Index 2026: 80% of US students use AI, 6% of teachers find the rule clear

The education chapter of Stanford's report describes a massive gap between established practices and institutions, half of which have no written policy.

The education component of Stanford's IA Index 2026, published on September 14, 2026, side by side presents two sets of figures that are difficult to reconcile. On the one hand, use has become the majority: 80% of American students use AI for their school work. On the other hand, half of secondary schools did not formalize any policy on the subject, and among teachers who practice where a text exists, only 6% consider it clear. As a result, 47% of students say they do not know if the tool is allowed for specific tasks.

U.S. high school students continue to focus on upstream and revision of work: finding sources (51%), modifying or rereading essays (50%), and producing ideas (50%). Nothing that falls within the scope of characterised fraud, but nothing that is clearly covered by the existing guidelines.

At the international level, there are considerable differences among senior students: 95% of IA users in Indonesia, 89% in Australia, and 67% in the United States. The report draws a sober conclusion: the dissemination of these tools in education is faster than the capacity of institutions to measure it, and a fortiori to frame it.