Story By: Meg Wallace
MONTEVALLO, Ala. — With finals quickly approaching, students are spending most of their time studying. But how has artificial intelligence, or AI, affected this process?
According to a study from Cambell Academic Technology Services, as of March 2025, 86% of university students reported using generative AI in some form for their classes. Of these students, 54% admitted to using AI weekly, with one in four students reporting daily AI usage. But in the year since, AI usage has only gone up, as shown by ChatGPT leading the charts in downloads for many of the recent months. This leads one to believe that the numbers should be even higher today.
So does AI affect the studying process? Sites like Quizlet have drastically changed their learning model since the advancement of AI models. Quizlet was once used by students to make their own flashcards to study for tests. This was effective because students had the freedom to craft a study set in the most beneficial way for their learning style. Now, however, Quizlet is hard to use without running into generative AI.
An entire tab called “Generate Study Guide” has been added to the site, encouraging students to upload notes or textbook pages and have AI create a study guide for them. At the bottom of the page is a disclaimer that reads, “This product is enhanced by AI and may provide incorrect or problematic content. Do not enter personal data,” but are students listening to these warnings? And if not, is the implementation of AI hindering students abilities by teaching them incorrect information? Or, does the increased efficiency that comes with using AI to study help students learn faster?
UM student Cleo Woodrow shares her thoughts on using AI to study. She says that while she rarely uses generative AI, she finds other types of AI to come in handy in certain circumstances.
“I’ve used AI features that aren’t generative like whatever Grammarly uses to do spell, punctuation, and tone checks sometimes,” Woodrow says. In relation to generative AI, Woodrow says, “The only time I can think of for that is if I’m researching a topic that’s very niche and seems to have literally zero research on it at all. Then I’ve asked AI to find me a study about it just to see if there are any that exist at all.”
Woodrow says that when using AI, one still needs to verify the responses they receive to make sure the information is accurate.
Overall, AI can be used as a tool to study, but when in doubt, double check the information. Happy studying falcons!
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