There Is No Average User of Generative AI

ByCET Contributor

Our incoming students may look very different this year. On November 30 2022 Open AI launched their Chat GPT (3.5) Generative AI tool. It was the most quickly adopted technology in the history of technology with more than 1 million active users after one week.  This September, incoming students will have had access to Generative AI for almost the entirety of their secondary education. 

While use is wide spread, a recent (October 2025) survey by KPMG found that about ¾ (73%) of Canadian students surveyed have used Generative AI for their schooling.  Some of the ways that these students have used Generative AI include:

  • Research (63%),
  • Generating Ideas (62%),
  • Editing/Reviewing Assignments (43 %),
  • Summarizing Information from Publicly Available Sources (39%),
  • Writing Essays (39%) and
  • Creating Presentations (32%).

Beyond their coursework, these students were also asked how they were using Generative AI in other areas of their lives. Their responses included:

  • Emotional Support (52%)
  • Sixty percent (60%) said they felt safer asking GenAI personal questions than a friend or family member
  • They trust GenAI more than humans (52%).

For many incoming students, AI has been a visible part of their educational and social landscape throughout their four years of high-school. Some have used it extensively. Some have received guidance on how to use it effectively and responsibly. Others have developed their own practices through experimentation.  Some have intentionally avoided it altogether.

The result is that students are no longer arriving with a common starting point.

Some students will possess significant experience using AI tools but little understanding of their limitations. Others may demonstrate strong critical awareness despite limited hands-on experience. Some will arrive with habits that support learning. Others may arrive with deeply ingrained practices that need refinement, modification, or sometimes unlearning.

The incoming cohort is not defined by a single AI experience. It is defined by the growing diversity of AI experiences students bring with them. Our challenge is not to assume where students are starting. Our challenge is to recognize that they are no longer all starting in the same place.

The resource below is intended to help instructors establish an understanding of their students’ skill sets.

Generative AI boom among Canadian students raises dilemmas.

CET Contributor
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