A Report on EAB’s 2026 AI Pulse Survey

In 2026, EAB surveyed more than 11,000 high school students and recent graduates to learn more about their attitudes and behaviors with respect to AI. Findings from that work are now available to our partner institutions in the form of the report available for download on this page.

The report should be considered mandatory reading for enrollment leaders and their cabinet-level allies. AI is already having real-world impact on students’ school selection, which it is influencing in several ways. The specifics of that influence, or even the mere fact of it, remain unknown to most in the higher education leadership community. This is not through any lack of effort or acumen on their part; rather, it reflects the incredibly fast pace at which the AI landscape is developing and the profound complexity that characterizes student interactions with and attitudes toward AI. The main benefit of our survey is giving you a current and detailed read on these dynamics.

Here are some representative examples of insights covered in the piece:

• Almost a quarter of students said that information obtained via AI tools led them to remove particular schools from their consideration sets
• The percentage of students who say they are concerned about AI has increased by around a third since last year
• One in five students dropped or changed their major based the expected impact of AI on their chosen field/career

The questions we asked in the survey were designed with an eye to actionability, and the report also connects the dots for you, describing recommended courses of action based on what the research taught us about the current state of student engagement with AI. The report, therefore, not only provides essential context for your broader strategizing; it also serves as a platform for action you can take immediately to get ahead of potentially detrimental effects of AI on your recruitment efforts and to tap its latent positive potential.