The news: AI adoption among US teens ages 13 to 17 is prevalent, with 64% actively using AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, and Character.ai, per Pew Research Center.

• More than half use it to search for information (57%), and for schoolwork (54%). 
• 40% of teens use AI to summarize content or edit images and video, and 19% use chatbots for news.
• A significant minority has moved beyond education and productivity—16% use chatbots for casual conversations, and 12% turn to AI for companionship or advice.

Pew’s findings offer an overview of teen AI adoption, including which services chatbots are replacing—such as search engines, image editing tools, productivity apps, chat services, and news websites. That shift is an indicator of where brands should be as that cohort ages.

Implications for brands: The emergence of an AI-native generation means these teens will soon expect instant, always-on, and personalized responses from every digital interaction, not necessarily within chatbots alone. Those standards could soon shape their expectations of brands.

• For many teens, AI chatbots now sit alongside search, schoolwork, and conversation. That makes teens an early proving ground for testing tone, response speed, and safety. 
• Teen habits become adult defaults. Social media use among 18- to 29‑year‑olds rose from 12% in 2005 to 90% by 2015, tracking early adoption among teens and then becoming ubiquitous for young adults, per Pew Research.

Whether interactions are for customer support, product discovery, retail sales, or personalized recommendations, brands will be expected to be accessible and responsive through a conversational interface.

Brands must transition from being destinations (a website or an FAQ page) to being utilities (an AI-powered assistant) by strategically embedding AI into core product interactions.