Over 1 in 3 college-aged young adults in the U.S. use ChatGPT regularly, according to new research from OpenAI shared exclusively with Fortune, and over a quarter of their messages relate to education, like learning, tutoring, or schoolwork. Writing help, miscellaneous questions, and programming help round out the top student use cases, based on OpenAI user data.

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While Leah Belsky, VP of education at OpenAI, says it is a great sign so many students have embraced generative AI, there is cause for concern because of significant variability across states. 

Young adults in California, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Arizona, Washington, and Utah have the highest adoption rates among their age group. OpenAI singled out Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and West Virginia as states with relatively low ChatGPT adoption rates among college-aged students.

“Students are major users of AI,” Belsky says. “They are using it informally. They are learning about it from their friends. It is time for us to bring AI out of the shadows and make it part of the core infrastructure of U.S. education so that students can be prepared for the future workforce.”

State variability in ChatGPT adoption could drive inequalities

Students who are actively engaging with AI are obtaining critical skills that others are missing out on—and it could cost them later in their careers. According to Microsoft and LinkedIn, over half of all employers—71%—would prefer to hire a less experienced candidate with AI skills over a more qualified candidate without AI skills.

The ChatGPT research also finds that 3 in 4 college-aged users want to use AI in their education and careers. Belsky hopes the report can be a wake-up call for universities and policymakers that students are using generative AI—and ignoring that fact is only creating greater inequalities.

“While there's much to be figured out in the education sector, we think that the educational institutions and leaders have a major role to play in bringing the entire student population along and making sure that all students have access to AI and gain the skills to learn how to use it,” Belsky says.

Some of the biggest obstacles preventing AI use among students include a lack of knowledge of how to get started using the tools, a lack of confidence, and worry about what their parents or teachers will say, she adds.

Last year, Arizona State University (ASU) became OpenAI’s first university partner, and since then, the company has expanded ChatGPT Edu—a generative AI product built specifically for universities. Schools like the University of Texas–Austin, Columbia University, and the California State University system recently deployed ChatGPT access to their students and faculty.

In terms of policy actions, OpenAI says it would like to see federal action—in the form of expanding 529 savings plans to cover AI-related training programs; state action—with legislatures establishing AI literacy frameworks for students and teachers; and workforce development—via the incentivization of public-private partnerships between training programs and employers.

More on AI and education:

• OpenAI partners with Wharton for a new course focused on leveraging ChatGPT for teachers.
• Here are 7 free AI classes you can take online from top tech firms, universities.

Higher ed leaders can learn generative AI for free with this new course.