By Adam Mills

Copyright newsweek

When calculators first appeared in classrooms, they were met with skepticism. Teachers wondered if students would ever learn to think for themselves again. The same questions surfaced again when search engines made research instant, when smartphones turned study groups into group chats and when remote learning moved lectures into living rooms.Artificial intelligence (AI) is the latest disruption. Yet unlike earlier tools, AI doesn’t just support learning, it’s now woven into it, reshaping how students think, write and problem-solve.According to new research from Copyleaks, an AI detection and content integrity company, 90 percent of U.S. students say they use AI for schoolwork and nearly one in three use it daily.What began as quiet experimentation has become routine. And those habits are already shaping the expectations of tomorrow’s workforce.”The fact that 90 percent of students use AI for schoolwork, coupled with the fact that nearly a third of students use it daily, shows AI has shifted from an experimental tool to a routine part of learning,” Alon Yamin, co-founder and CEO of Copyleaks, told Newsweek.”This essentially means that AI has become a core classroom technology for students; educators and institutions need to gain a more nuanced understanding of how they are explicitly using AI and how to incorporate it into the classroom instead of banning it altogether, while establishing appropriate guidelines.”For business leaders, those habits matter because they reveal how the next wave of employees will expect to use AI across every function, from marketing to operations.From Curiosity to Core SkillThe company’s 2025 AI in Education Trends Report found that many students use AI for brainstorming (57 percent) and creating outlines (50 percent).”This shift demonstrates precisely why AI can be a highly beneficial tool for students when used correctly,” Yamin said. “Students are benefiting from using AI in the mechanics of writing, allowing them to spend more time refining ideas and focusing on the bigger picture.”Those habits represent a broader cultural shift in how students approach problem-solving.Instead of using AI as a shortcut, most are using it as a collaborator, a starting point for structure and clarity that still relies on their own creativity to take shape. In essence, AI has become part of the learning loop rather than an escape from it.The report also found that 74 percent of students use ChatGPT, compared with 43 percent who use Gemini.That gap, Yamin said, underscores “the importance of brand recognition and ease of use in adoption,” a pattern mirrored across industries “where user experience and accessibility are more important to people than technical nuance alone.”Rethinking Integrity and GuidanceAI’s rapid ascent in education is forcing schools to rethink the relationship between innovation and integrity.For Yamin, the solution isn’t to prohibit AI, it’s to teach it. “It’s vital to establish guardrails for students and training on AI; having clear policies and assignments that require them to explain how they used AI are essential to transparency,” he said. “This way, they can learn how to use it as a helper without losing their own voice or original thinking.”Without clear expectations, students risk treating AI as a shortcut rather than a skill-builder. But with structure, schools can make it a laboratory for critical thinking, teaching students how to challenge AI’s assumptions, validate its output and integrate its insights into their own.That approach, Yamin added, protects both academic honesty and intellectual curiosity. “The biggest challenges are making sure AI is used in ways that protect academic integrity and prevent plagiarism, while also safeguarding sensitive data and intellectual property,” he said.”At the same time, schools and governments must address bias and transparency in AI outputs and ensure equal access to prevent the technology from widening existing gaps. Ultimately, the challenge is balancing innovation with responsibility.”The takeaway for educators is clear: AI isn’t replacing teaching, it’s changing what needs to be taught.Preparing for the Workforce AheadThe classroom has effectively become the front line of AI adoption, and its lessons are bleeding into business. As AI continues to be embedded in education, Yamin said it’s shaping the next generation’s approach to work.”With nearly one in three students already using AI daily, we can expect them to enter the workforce treating AI as second nature,” he said. “So, we can expect they’ll continue to use it in their jobs too.”That means companies hiring today’s graduates aren’t just recruiting digital natives, they’re onboarding employees fluent in intelligent systems.”Executives should be aware that, as adoption continues to grow and many users cite daily usage, new hires will come in expecting to utilize AI in their workflow,” Yamin said. “Companies will need to adapt their training and set guardrails to ensure that employees not only know how to use the tools but are also able to use them responsibly.”That shift is already reflected in the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, which found that analytical thinking, AI and big data and technology design are among the fastest-growing professional skills.The same report predicts that by 2030, nearly 40 percent of core job skills will have changed, a shift that underscores the need for continuous learning and human-AI collaboration.For Yamin, that transition isn’t just technical, it’s cultural. “There’s definitely a risk if students use AI as a crutch without thoroughly learning the underlying skills; it’s important that AI has human oversight every step of the way,” he said.”Employers may need to double down on ensuring that new hires can use their own judgment and oversight in addition to what AI produces, using it to assist with their workflow and not completely take over writing tasks for them.”What Employers Should KnowThe lesson for business leaders, Yamin said, is to recognize that the classroom is now a preview of the modern workplace.”The lesson is that AI adoption is here to stay and is becoming an essential part of people’s workflows,” he said. “Rules alone aren’t enough, as students will naturally use AI wherever it helps them—and the same is true in the workplace. Companies need to go beyond policy by giving employees the training and tools to use AI responsibly in their day-to-day work.”That alignment, he added, can start well before graduation. “Students are already utilizing AI to save time, enhance quality, and gain a deeper understanding of complex topics,” Yamin said.”Businesses can help channel and even improve those habits in positive ways by working with schools to design curricula, offering internships that expose students to real-world AI use, and contributing to ethical standards that prepare them for the workforce.”For all the anxiety about automation, Yamin sees a generation learning to collaborate, not compete, with technology. His message for companies—and for education systems—is the same: the AI-native generation isn’t waiting for permission to experiment.”With 90 percent of students already using AI, executives should assume their future employees will arrive expecting to use it,” he said. “The smartest move is to build AI literacy and governance into the organization now… rather than scrambling to catch up once this generation enters the workforce.”