Snapshot of AI Usage, Concerns Among Children and Parents: Insights from 10 countries

UNICEF Innocenti policy brief presents new AI-related evidence from 10 countries

Despite the fast uptake of artificial intelligence systems by children, significant evidence gaps remain: How many children are using AI, and what are they using it for? What are the concerns, and factors shaping those concerns? 

A new UNICEF policy brief examines these questions, presenting new AI-related evidence from children and their parents and caregivers in 10 countries: Armenia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Jordan, Mexico, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Pakistan and Serbia.

The brief draws on data from the second phase of the Disrupting Harm project, a research project led by UNICEF’s Office of Strategy and Evidence – Innocenti, ECPAT International and INTERPOL, with funding from Safe Online. 

Key takeaways include:

• AI uptake among children is uneven. Up to 50 percent of surveyed children are already using AI, with millions relying on it for homework and 1 in 10 turning to it for advice about issues that concern them.
• Children are over three times more likely to be users of AI systems than their parents or caregivers; comprehensive AI literacy and support programs are needed to address this usage divide.
• Concerns among children about AI indicate a strong need for AI literacy and safer AI systems to protect children from its risks.
• AI use in child sexual abuse and exploitation is significant; UNICEF estimates AI was used to create fake sexual images or videos of at least 1.2 million children in 11 countries in a single year. Children need urgent protection from these harms.
• Overall evidence of the impacts of AI usage remains sparse, and is far outpaced by the rate of AI adoption. There is a pressing need for research to better support children through evidence-informed AI policy and design, as well as programs to support children and their families to thrive in the digital environment.

Read the June 2026 issue brief, "Snapshot of AI Usage and Concerns Among Children and Parents"

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