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type: "button" label: "Activate a licence" url: "https://app.genio.co/notes/activate" - type: "button" label: "Watch a demo" url: "https://genio.co/watch-demo" content: - section: title: "Blog breadcrumb navigation" elements: - type: "breadcrumb" items: - label: "Home" url: "https://genio.co/" - label: "Blogs" url: "https://genio.co/blog" - label: "Supporting Students" url: "https://genio.co/blog/tag/supporting-students" - section: title: "How students are using AI in 2026: A shift from AI adoption to AI agency" description: "In 2026, the question isn’t if students use AI, it’s how. As adoption hits 90%, institutional leaders must now shift focus from integration to impact. Learn how to protect productive friction and maintain student agency in an AI-first landscape." elements: - type: "hero_image" url: "https://genio.co/hubfs/BLOG_study%20tools%20available%20for%20students%20HERO.png" alt: "Toy robot next to a computer screen, mobile and keyboard" - section: title: "AI trends and statistics to consider in 2026" description: "To make informed decisions, we have to look at the reality of the lecture hall today:" elements: - type: "statistic_list" items: - stat: "92%" description: "Usage rates among university students, up from just 66% in 2024." source: name: "HEPI-Kortext Student Generative AI Survey 2025" url: "https://www.hepi.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/HEPI-Kortext-Student-Generative-AI-Survey-2025.pdf" - stat: "36%" description: "Of students have received formal training or support from their institution on how to use AI effectively." source: name: "DemandSage" url: "https://www.demandsage.com/ai-in-education-statistics/" - stat: "higher socio-economic backgrounds" description: "Students from higher socio-economic backgrounds are significantly more likely to use AI for high-level tasks like structuring thoughts and deep research, while others use it only for surface-level tasks like basic summaries." source: name: "HEPI-Kortext Student Generative AI Survey 2025" url: "https://www.hepi.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/HEPI-Kortext-Student-Generative-AI-Survey-2025.pdf" - stat: "53%" description: "Of students report being scared to use AI in their learning for fear of being wrongly accused of cheating, despite mostly using it for concept explanation and research ideas." source: name: "Turnitin" url: "https://www.turnitin.com/blog/what-2025-generative-ai-trends-reveal-about-student-behavior" - section: title: "How to ensure students use AI productively" description: "The goal of technology should be to remove unproductive friction, the administrative heavy lifting that gets in the way of learning." elements: - type: "text_block" content: "This could involve:" - type: "list" items: - "Automating certain components, such as transcription, so students can actively engage during lectures." - "Using AI to organize massive amounts of research into digestible outlines." - "Using AI systems that can offer flexible tutor style support for students who work non traditional hours." - type: "text_block" content: "Removing the unproductive friction allows students to engage quicker with the real learning - quizzing themselves on concepts using active recall methods and spaced repetition." - type: "text_block" content: "In short: if a tool makes learning feel effortless, it’s probably not teaching anything. We don’t want to make the work disappear; we want to make the student more capable of doing the work." - section: title: "Strategy for staff: How to ensure students use AI effectively and ethically?" description: "For institutional leaders, the goal in 2026 isn't just to permit AI, it’s to govern it in a way that protects academic integrity while narrowing the digital divide." elements: - type: "pillars" items: - pillar: "Transparency" description: "Being clear with students about which tools are vetted for data privacy and which ones are 'use at your own risk.' Avoid free tools that may use student data to train models." source: name: "EDUCAUSE" url: "https://www.educause.edu/research/2026/the-impact-of-ai-on-work-in-higher-education" - pillar: "Equity" description: "Ensuring that all students have access to premium, ethical AI tools so that AI advantage doesn't become a privilege of those who can afford private subscriptions." - pillar: "Integrity through guidance" description: "Shift from prohibition to transparency. Encourage students to submit an AI disclosure statement alongside their work to reduce anxiety and promote ethical literacy." source: name: "Turnitin" url: "https://www.turnitin.com/blog/what-2025-generative-ai-trends-reveal-about-student-behavior" - type: "cta" label: "AI Policy Template" description: "We’ve developed a comprehensive AI Policy Template designed specifically for Higher Ed. It provides a starting point for creating clear, actionable guidelines that protect both your faculty and your learners." url: "https://go.genio.co/ai-policy-template" - section: title: "Moving forward: A human-centered AI strategy" description: "As we look toward the rest of the year, the focus must remain on the human relationship. AI should handle the mechanics so that faculty can handle the mentorship. Because at the end of the day, technology can provide the data, but only humans can provide the meaning." elements: - type: "cta" label: "Download the AI policy template here" url: "https://go.genio.co/ai-policy-template" - section: title: "Share this blog" elements: - type: "social_share" platforms: - platform: "Facebook" url: "https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fgenio.co%2Fblog%2F-students-using-ai-2026-from-ai-adoption-to-ai-agency%3Futm_campaign%3Dshare-links%26utm_source%3Dfacebook%26utm_medium%3Dsocial" icon: "https://genio.co/hubfs/raw_assets/public/genio-2025/images/facebook.png" - platform: "LinkedIn" url: "https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fgenio.co%2Fblog%2F-students-using-ai-2026-from-ai-adoption-to-ai-agency%3Futm_campaign%3Dshare-links%26utm_source%3Dlinkedin%26utm_medium%3Dsocial" icon: "https://genio.co/hubfs/raw_assets/public/genio-2025/images/linkedIn.png" - platform: "Twitter" url: "https://twitter.com/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgenio.co%2Fblog%2F-students-using-ai-2026-from-ai-adoption-to-ai-agency%3Futm_campaign%3Dshare-links%26utm_source%3Dtwitter%26utm_medium%3Dsocial" icon: "https://genio.co/hubfs/raw_assets/public/genio-2025/images/twitter.png" - platform: "Email" url: "mailto:?subject=How students are using AI in 2026%3A A shift from AI adoption to AI agency&body=https%3A%2F%2Fgenio.co%2Fblog%2F-students-using-ai-2026-from-ai-adoption-to-ai-agency%3Futm_campaign%3Dshare-links%26utm_source%3Demail%26utm_medium%3Dsocial" icon: "https://genio.co/hubfs/raw_assets/public/genio-2025/images/email.svg" - platform: "Copy Link" url: "https://genio.co/blog/-students-using-ai-2026-from-ai-adoption-to-ai-agency" icon: "https://genio.co/hubfs/raw_assets/public/genio-2025/images/copy_link.svg" - section: title: "Time for a simpler, smarter note taking accommodation?" description: "Genio Notes is the online note taking tool that makes compliance simple, reduces cost and admin burden, and improves student outcomes." elements: - type: "cta_image" url: "https://genio.co/hubfs/cta_image.svg" - type: "cta" label: "Learn More" url: "https://hubspot-cta-redirect-eu1-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/cta/redirect/24880982/edb6c600-e949-4a2c-983d-c7e2ecf6eec5" - section: title: "More from Supporting Students" elements: - type: "view_all_link" url: "https://genio.co/blog/tag/supporting-students" - type: "related_articles" items: - title: "The essential habits of highly successful college students with Dr John Bader" url: "https://genio.co/blog/the-essential-habits-of-highly-successful-college-students-with-dr-john-bader" description: "Learning Outcomes Leaders Podcast | Ep 006" image: "https://genio.co/hs-fs/hubfs/Learning%20Outcomes%20Leaders%20Podcast%20Ep%20006%20with%20Dr%20John%20Bader%20hero.png?width=450&name=Learning%20Outcomes%20Leaders%20Podcast%20Ep%20006%20with%20Dr%20John%20Bader%20hero.png" reading_time: "" - title: "How Genio supports the New Majority Learner in higher education" url: "https://genio.co/blog/how-genio-supports-the-new-majority-learner-in-higher-education" description: "Read how Genio Notes supports the New Majority Learners in higher education, helping student parents, working, first-year, first-generation, ESL, and mature students build confidence, reduce stress, and improve academic success." image: "https://genio.co/hs-fs/hubfs/BLOG_how%20to%20study%20better%20THUMB.png?width=450&name=BLOG_how%20to%20study%20better%20THUMB.png" reading_time: "5 min read" - title: "Supporting the New Majority Learner: How colleges can drive success for student parents" url: "https://genio.co/blog/how-colleges-can-drive-success-for-student-parents" description: "Drawing on case studies from the Achieving the Dream conference, this article explores how colleges are driving success for student parents through data, policy and family-friendly physical and digital changes. 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