Students are using AI to research your college. Here’s what you need to know.

Over the past few days, I’ve used ChatGPT to create a meal plan for the week, summarize action items from meetings, and even learn what my dog might look like as a human. It’s quickly become a go-to resource in my daily life. So naturally, as someone whose job is to understand how colleges can better connect with students, I’ve been eager to explore how today’s students are using AI within their college search.

The 2025 edition of our long-running Student Communication Preferences Survey, which gathered responses from around 20,000 current high school students, offers new insight to help answer this question.

Here’s what you need to know about how AI is shaping college search.

New Insight Paper: Recruiting the Anxious Generation

Today’s teens are always online.

One of the clearest takeaways from our survey data is that today’s teens are constantly digitally connected. Eighty-eight percent say they check email at least daily and 85% check social media at least daily.

This generation has grown up immersed in digital connection, and that constant connectivity is reshaping how they gather information—including about colleges.

One in four students use AI to research colleges

While AI tools may still feel new, they’re already making an impact on search. Twenty-six percent of students reported using an AI-based chatbot, such as ChatGPT or a chatbot on a college’s website, as part of their college-search process. While that may not be a majority, it’s a notable share, and one that’s poised to grow as AI tools become more integrated into students’ daily lives. We also saw gender differences in adoption: male students were slightly more likely than female students to use AI chatbots, at 29% compared to 25%.

AI chatbots rank low in terms of trust

However, despite the growing use, many students remain skeptical of AI relative to other sources of information. As shown in the chart below, AI chatbots rank lowest of all the college-search resources we asked about in terms of trust. This hesitation is understandable, especially coming from the “Anxious Generation,” a group of digital natives who have grown up online but are also aware of the risks and limitations of new technologies. While today’s high school students are comfortable navigating digital spaces, they’re also thoughtful and skeptical, particularly when it comes to new tools that aren’t yet fully proven.

Students prefer trusted sites like your .edu and college search platforms over AI-generated search results

What about the AI-generated results that now appear at the top of Google searches—how are students’ reacting to those? Our survey shows that when conducting online research about colleges, a majority of students look for a link on a specific school’s website or another known website, with only 11% saying that they read AI-generated results. This highlights the continued importance of maintaining a well-organized, user-friendly .edu site and a strong presence on known and trusted college search platforms like Appily.com.

And interestingly, even as AI-generated content ranks low in trust, students are using tools like ChatGPT to find their way to more trusted destinations. We saw a 377% increase in visitors to Appily.com from LLMs like ChatGPT in January through March 2025 compared to the same time last year. While the numbers are small (367 sessions last year against 1,750 this year), it’s clear that the trend is picking up speed.

Strategy takeaways

As student behavior continues to shift, the following tactics can help you ensure your institution is putting its best foot forward online:

• Optimize your site for both traditional and AI search: Ensure your website is search-engine optimized both for traditional and zero-click (AI-based) search results. For more on this topic, check out our new insight paper.
• Maintain a robust presence on trusted sites: Ensure you have a strong presence on top college search platforms like Appily.com. These remain key destinations for students throughout their research process.
• Don’t underestimate “traditional” sources: While the Anxious Generation lives online, our survey data shows that they also appreciate “traditional” sources like email, mail, and in-person events. A cohesive, multi-channel communication strategy remains critical.