Higher Ed Marketers Need to Understand Gen Z’s changing relationship with technology.

When Yes& kicked off its Gen Z research in Fall 2024, the high school students we spoke to weren’t afraid of AI. They were practical about it.

In our focus groups, students—regardless of their education plans or future career paths—saw AI as a tool for learning something new, as a productivity shortcut, and as a natural extension of the tech they had already grown up with.

They weren’t particularly anxious about an “AI takeover” or what it might mean for their future jobs. They didn’t think of AI as morally problematic. They also weren’t rejecting AI in education—if anything, they were confused why it was banned in their high school classrooms. Back then, AI wasn’t scary; it was just…there.

Now, as Yes& continues to conduct Gen Z research, we’ve noticed a shift. High school and college students now exhibit a much more visceral reaction to AI. Higher ed marketers need to understand the change, or their messaging about AI may actively turn prospective students away

Why Is Gen Z Worried About AI and Entry-Level Jobs?

What started as acceptance has now become apprehension. A year and a half ago, most high school students agreed that “AI probably won’t take my job” or “It might depend on the field I go into.” Now headlines about white-collar automation are creating great concern among high school and college students. College students who are having difficulty landing the already-elusive internship are seeing AI make scarce entry-level positions even scarcer.

So, when a college or university markets that it’s “training an AI-ready workforce,” students aren’t hearing this as a positive. They’re perceiving AI as their competition and wondering why an institution is working on behalf of their replacements.

Why Does Gen Z See AI as an Ethical Risk?

We know that Gen Z is values-driven. Our 2025 study of over 550 high school juniors and seniors reveals that both impact on the environment (92%) and impact on society as a whole (91%) are at least moderately important to them as they think about their future plans.

As AI is increasingly framed as environmentally harmful, exploitative, and corporate-controlled, Gen Z is less likely to perceive AI as a neutral tech tool and more likely to view it as an ethically suspect system.

Students may not reject AI outright. But it does mean their perception of it is becoming more cautious and more conditional. A higher education institution that trumpets its prowess in AI without understanding this wariness on the part of Gen Z risks backlash.

Are Students Worried AI Will Replace Human Teaching?

The conversation around AI in higher education has been dominated by topics like cheating, institutional policies, and job readiness. But students themselves are worried about something more fundamental: what AI integration actually means for their classroom experience. Students are wondering if the universities that embrace AI as something to be trained on also intend students to be taught by it. Are their professors using AI to build syllabi, grade work, or even teach – and what does that mean for their education experience?

Gen Z students are learning that human connection and networking are more important than ever if they are to break through increasingly automated hiring processes. They want to ensure they will still gain the mentorship, interaction, and people skills they need to get a job after graduation.

How Should Marketers Talk About AI to Gen Z?

Colleges and universities that proudly boast “We integrate AI into every major!” are running afoul of a profound shift in Gen Z attitudes. Instead of saying “Wow,” their best prospects may well be asking, “At the cost of what?” or “Why are you training me alongside my competition?”

Our ongoing Gen Z research suggests this key recommendation: Don’t sell AI as a feature. Instead, position your institution as one that understands the job anxiety students are feeling. Demonstrate that attending your college or university will give students an up-to-date and very human way to succeed in this new reality.

Don’t say…	Do say…
We have an AI-integrated curriculum.	Our curriculum prepares you to collaborate with and manage AI.
We’re training you to use AI in your job.	We show you how AI can amplify your thinking.
We prepare you for a career in an AI-driven world.	We help make human ethics, analysis, and judgement your career advantage.

The Takeaway for Higher Ed Marketers

Gen Z is reluctant to trust how AI is being used. Messaging that celebrates AI – or uses it as a buzzword – without addressing job anxiety, ethics, and human value risks backfiring.

Gen Z members are looking at higher education and AI differently than they did even one year ago. Higher ed marketers who want to reach today’s prospective students need to stay abreast of a shift that continues to affect this dynamic cohort.

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And if you’re not sure how messaging is landing with Gen Z, we offer a limited number of no-cost AI messaging audits leveraging our research each quarter. We’ll review your current messaging and show where it may be misaligned. Contact us to reserve a spot on the list.

FAQ: Gen Z and AI in Higher Education