Gen Z's AI excitement drops to 22%, anger rises to 31%
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- Excitement about AI among Gen Z fell from 36% in 2025 to 22% in 2026, per a Gallup/Walton Family Foundation/GSV Ventures survey of 1,572 14- to 29-year-olds conducted Feb. 24–March 4, 2026.
- Anger rose from 22% to 31% over the same period, with Gallup's Zach Hrynowski tying the spike partly to AI threatening entry-level job prospects — and noting the oldest Zoomers are the angriest cohort.
- Hopefulness dropped from 27% to 18%, while anxiety barely budged at 42%.
- AI adoption is largely unchanged — 22% of Gen Z use AI daily and 29% weekly — a plateau Hrynowski called 'the reticent acceptance that this technology is here to stay.'
- Daily users remain more curious, excited, and hopeful than weekly users, but even daily users are less enthusiastic than they were a year ago, per the report.
- K-12 readiness is climbing despite the sentiment drop: 52% of Gen Z K-12 students say they'll need AI skills for college (up from 47%), and 56% believe they'll graduate with daily-use AI skills (up from 44%).
Why it matters: The first generation raised entirely online is entering the workforce with rising anger and falling hope about AI — the same technology their schools and employers are racing to adopt. The oldest Zoomers, closest to the job market, are the most hostile, suggesting AI anxiety is concentrated exactly where entry-level pipelines are most exposed.
