Almost all Gen Z use AI in 2026—87% of 13-24-year-olds at least occasionally, with 30% of teens and 23% of young adults using AI tools and chatbots daily. Now, YPulse’s AI (Artificial Intelligence) report shows 57% of teens (13-17) and 44% of young adults (18-24) agree, “AI has become an essential part of my everyday life.” For many Gen Z users, using AI was practically synonymous with using ChatGPT in the early days of it becoming mainstream. But headlines earlier this year suggested ChatGPT may be losing some of its dominance, raising questions about whether the tool still dominates among Gen Z.  In March, reports circulated that many users were shifting toward Claude following controversies surrounding ChatGPT and OpenAI at large. These conversations were happening alongside Claude growing in popularity; over the past year, the platform has become one of ChatGPT’s biggest competitors. These narratives may have made it seem like Gen Z—some of the biggest AI users—were making the switch as well. But as always, YPulse questions whether the...