The assumption was that Gen Z — digital natives raised on algorithmic feeds, streaming queues, and smartphone everything — would be artificial intelligence's most natural enthusiasts. A new survey from Gallup, the Walton Family Foundation, and GSV Ventures is complicating that picture considerably.
Tracking more than 1,500 Americans aged 14 to 29, the research finds that Gen Z's relationship with AI has reached an unexpected inflection point: adoption has plateaued, negative sentiment has sharpened, and the gap between using a technology and trusting it has become very hard to ignore.
Usage Stuck at Half
Just over half of Gen Zers — 51%, combining daily and weekly users — report using generative AI on a regular basis, a figure that barely moved from the prior year. The stagnation is striking given that worker access to AI rose 50% in 2025, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Organizations are building AI infrastructure faster than younger people are choosing to engage with it.
Excitement Down 14 Points, Anger Up 9
The emotional picture has shifted noticeably. In a single year, excitement about AI dropped 14 percentage points among Gen Zers, while hopefulness fell by nine. Anger rose nine points. Anxiety held steady at 42% — including among many who use AI every day.
Curiosity remains the most commonly reported feeling, at 49%. That matters: this isn't a generation that's tuned out. They're paying close attention — and increasingly, they don't like what they see.
Even daily users, who generally view AI more favorably than their peers, saw their positivity decline significantly year over year. Among that group, excitement fell 18 points since 2025. More exposure, it turns out, is not producing more confidence.
Creativity, Critical Thinking, and the Efficiency Drop
Gen Z's concerns are specific and consistent. Pluralities believe AI will actually hurt their ability to think critically (42%) and generate original ideas (38%). Those aren't fringe positions — they represent the most common single response in both categories.
Agreement that AI tools help complete work faster dropped 10 points, to 56%. Belief that AI speeds up learning fell seven points, to 46%. Eight in ten Gen Zers say they expect relying on AI to make learning harder down the road — a view that cuts across gender, race, and income levels with notable consistency.
48% of Gen Z Workers See More Risk Than Reward
The skepticism becomes most pronounced among those already in the workforce. Employed Gen Zers are more than three times as likely to say AI's risks outweigh its benefits as those who see the reverse. Nearly half — 48% — land in the risk-dominant camp, up sharply from 37% the prior year.
Trust in AI-assisted work is also low. About seven in ten Gen Z workers say they trust work completed without AI involvement, compared to just 28% who extend that trust to AI-assisted output. Work produced entirely by AI — virtually no one trusts it.
This is a generation entering the workforce at exactly the moment their employers are accelerating AI adoption. The collision of those two forces is already producing friction.
K-12 Students Are More Prepared, Not More Enthusiastic
Among younger students, confidence in their own AI readiness is rising — up 12 points in a year, to 56% who believe they'll have the skills to use AI in daily life after high school. Schools are adapting too: the share with formal AI policies jumped from 51% to 74%.
But preparation and enthusiasm are not the same thing. Students are getting ready for an AI-fluent future because they believe it's unavoidable, not because they've been won over by the technology. That's a strategic calculation — and it's a telling one.
A Generation That Sees the Tradeoffs Clearly
For anyone who assumes the most digitally immersed generation must be leading the AI charge, the Gallup data offers a corrective. Gen Z isn't rejecting the technology. They're approaching it with eyes open — and finding real, measurable reasons to stay wary. Curiosity and anxiety are turning out to be very compatible emotions when the stakes feel this high.
