"Sixty-five percent of girls who use voice-activated assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google Home say they view them as friends, according to the survey conducted by Wakefield Research in March 2026. Additionally, 62% think of AI companions or chatbots as friends. Among those girls, two-thirds have turned to AI for help when feeling sad, upset, anxious, or lonely."
"Nearly half of girls (47%) believe AI is better than their parents at helping with homework, and that number jumps to 57% among Black girls. Taste in pop culture is also seen as superior: half prefer AI over their parents for song, show, or movie recommendations, and nearly as many say AI is better at entertaining them when they're bored (48%) or telling a funny joke (48%)."
"Despite the ubiquitous use of AI, parents appear largely unaware of how embedded AI has become. While 51% of girls report using AI at least once a day, only 32% of parents believe their child does. Dads were slightly more accurate at 38%, compared with 28% of moms."
""Many families have been using voice assistants and AI-powered features for so long that they may no longer register them as AI," Bonnie Barczykowski, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA, told Fortune. "Girls may also encounter AI without actively seeking it out: on school-issued devices, in apps, through search engines, and in recommendation systems.""
Girls ages 5 to 13 increasingly use AI in daily life, including voice-activated assistants and AI chatbots. Many girls view these tools as friends, and a large share turn to AI when feeling sad, upset, anxious, or lonely. Nearly half of girls believe AI is better than parents at helping with homework, with higher rates among Black girls. Girls also prefer AI for pop culture recommendations, entertainment when bored, and funny jokes. Despite frequent use by girls, many parents underestimate how often AI is used, with notable differences between dads and moms. AI access can be passive through school devices, apps, search engines, and recommendation systems, and can be built into everyday platforms.
#ai-companions #child-mental-health-support #homework-assistance #voice-assistants #parental-awareness
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