Gen AI: the puzzling case of Britain’s young people and what they think of AI
Tech at Public First
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Gen AI: the puzzling case of Britain’s young people and what they think of AI<br>British 18-24 year-olds are among AI’s most frequent users. So why are they becoming less optimistic about the future it is creating?
Tech at Public First<br>Aug 21, 2026
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Younger people are often assumed to embrace new technology with enthusiasm. Yet the return of wired headphones and the wider ‘analogue renaissance’ suggest that might no longer be a given. Public First’s AI Global 2026 report found that AI is no exception: net positivity among British 18-24 year olds has fallen from 63% in 2023 to 46% in 2026.<br>What makes this surprising is how much they still use it. Almost two-thirds (63%) of 18-24 year olds use generative AI at least weekly, including nearly one in three (32%) who use it every day.<br>So what explains this? Familiarity has not translated into optimism, nor are young people struggling to see AI’s immediate value. More than half (53%) continue to use it because it saves time. The tension seems to emerge when they look further ahead.<br>Across our polling we found some common themes:<br>Young people are worried about what AI means for gaining workplace skills . More than a third (36%) of 18-24s worry AI will make critical thinking harder, while 33% think developing expertise will become more difficult. Overall, 60% of young adults worry at least sometimes about relying too much on AI.
Career stage appears to shape views of AI. 18-24s and 35-44s use AI at almost identical rates, yet only 19% of the younger group believe it will improve both their own opportunities and society, compared with 28% of 35-44s.
AI optimism follows economic optimism. 46% of respondents across all age groups who expect their personal economic situation to improve ‘a lot’ also take the most optimistic view that AI will benefit both themselves and society, compared with only 16% amongst those who expect their economic citation to get ‘a lot worse’.
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Familiarity Does Not Always Produce Optimism
Previous Public First research, found that targeted training and workplace experience can close demographic gaps in use, such as amongst older women, and that this in turn improved optimism about the role of technology in society.<br>But 18-24s are already among the most frequent users of generative AI. The comparison with 35-44s makes this particularly striking. Despite almost identical levels of use (63% vs. 61% say they use generative AI tools at least weekly), younger adults are far less likely to believe AI will improve both society and their own opportunities (19% vs. 28%) . Similar exposure is producing different expectations.<br>Career stage offers one explanation. By their mid-thirties and forties, many workers have expertise that exists independently of AI, allowing the technology to complement capabilities they already possess. Younger workers are encountering the same tools while trying to build that foundation.<br>The Value of the Entry Level Job
Generative AI is particularly good at many of the tasks associated with early career: summarising documents, drafting emails and turning notes into a report. An experienced worker already has the judgement to assess AI’s output and fill the gaps. The technology can speed up work without necessarily replacing the process through which professional judgement develops.<br>For someone at the start of their career, the same shortcut is more ambiguous. AI can improve today’s output while reducing the opportunities through which tomorrow’s expertise is built.<br>Our polling suggests young adults are thinking carefully about this. More than a third (36%) worry AI will make critical thinking harder, while 33% think it will make developing expertise more difficult. Overall, 60% of 18-24s say they often or sometimes worry about relying too much on AI, compared with only 39% of 55-64 year olds.
This matters because entry-level work has always done more than produce entry-level output. It is the opportunity for young people to learn by doing, have their work reviewed by more experienced colleagues and gradually develop their own judgement. Even where junior jobs remain, what those jobs teach will change if new entrants are expected to produce work at a pace that only AI can facilitate.<br>A Participation Paradox
None of this is leading young people to opt out of using AI. More than a quarter (30%) have used AI for job applications or CVs and 25% for workplace tasks.
But opting out increasingly carries a cost. More than half (52%) of 18-24 year olds have felt pressured to use AI, higher than any other age group.
This is the participation paradox at the centre of young people’s relationship with AI. The technology is useful and increasingly expected, yet it has arrived at a point in their careers where they want to develop the skills that managers are tempted to use AI to shortcut.<br>That tension...