April 2 (UPI) — A majority of college students in the United States uses artificial intelligence tools for their coursework at least once per week, a poll revealed.

The Lumina Foundation and Gallup released results from their 2026 State of Higher Education survey of U.S. college students, finding that 57% use AI at least once a week as part of their coursework and roughly 20% use it on a daily basis.

The vast majority of students who use AI said it helps them understand complex material, saves them time and has helped them get better grades, the survey results showed.

For students who rarely or never use AI for their school work, three-quarters of survey respondents said they consider it either unethical or as cheating, with nearly as many saying that their college prohibits or at least discourages AI use.

“Taken together, the findings suggest that AI is already a routine part of college students’ academic work, even has institutional guidance has not fully caught up,” Lumina and Gallup said in a press release.

“Further, the results underscore the importance of clearly defined, consistently communicated AI policies and instructional practices that reflect how students are already engaging with the technology for learning, efficiency and academic support,” they said.

More than 3,800 U.S. students between the ages of 18 and 59 participated in the online survey, 1,433 of whom were pursuing an associate degree and 2,368 of whom were pursuing a bachelor’s degree.

The researchers found that 42% of students said their school discourages AI use and 11% prohibit it entirely, while roughly 40% said their schools encourage its use to some extent.

Despite this, 21% of students said they use AI daily, 36% use it weekly and 12% use it monthly, with male students using AI more often than female students and business, technology and engineering students utilizing the technology most often among majors.

The reasons that students use AI in their coursework were relatively universal as 86% said AI is at least very important to help them understand complex material, 76% said it helps them to save time and 70% said it helped them to improve their academic performance.

Lumina and Gallup said the survey reveals that with so many students using AI to assist with their coursework, colleges need to address the fact that AI is likely to play a role in many occupations in the future — and their students need to know how to responsibly use it.

“Students expect their institutions to prepare them for the world of work upon graduation, which will inevitable include AI, given its proliferation,” the two organizations said.

“Schools that fail to provide those experiences will likely produce graduates who are behind in their development of this increasingly relevant skill,” they said.