Navigating AI Chatbots and TikTok: Insights into Gen Z Teen Engagement

Pew’s newest survey reveals how teenagers juggle chatbots, YouTube, and near-constant connectivity. Entrepreneurs take observe.

Gen Z is almost always online and they're bringing AI chatbots along for the ride

Pew Analysis Heart’s newest teen-focused survey places arduous knowledge behind what many entrepreneurs have sensed: teenagers are deeply embedded in digital life, and synthetic intelligence is now a part of the combo. Practically two-thirds of U.S. teenagers aged 13 to 17 have used AI chatbots, and about 30% are chatting with them day by day.

On the identical time, conventional platforms like YouTube and TikTok proceed to dominate teen consideration spans, with about 1 in 5 teenagers saying they use these platforms virtually continually. For entrepreneurs aiming to remain related with Gen Z, these numbers underscore a must rethink how, the place, and with what instruments they have interaction youth audiences.

This text explores key insights from the report and what they imply for manufacturers and entrepreneurs making an attempt to achieve teenagers who’re concurrently loyal to platforms and experimental with AI.

Brief on time?

Right here’s a desk of contents for fast entry:

Teenagers on YouTube, TikTok, and chatbots

Regardless of widespread debates round display time and digital well being, social platforms are nonetheless dominant amongst U.S. teenagers. YouTube stays king, utilized by roughly 92% of teenagers and visited day by day by three-quarters of them. TikTok and Instagram additionally stay sticky, with 68% and 63% day by day use respectively.

However AI chatbots are the large plot twist. Pew’s 2025 survey reveals that 64% of teenagers use chatbots, and about 16% report utilizing them a number of instances a day or virtually continually. Amongst teenagers who do use them, OpenAI’s ChatGPT leads the pack by a large margin, utilized by 59%, adopted by Gemini (23%) and Meta AI (20%).

Character.ai, Microsoft Copilot, and Claude lag behind, although adoption charges may shift as extra platforms combine chat into day by day workflows or content material experiences.

Demographic deep dives

The Pew examine additionally unpacks utilization by gender, race, earnings, and political leanings, portray a nuanced image of youngster digital habits:

Race and ethnicity: Black and Hispanic teenagers are the heaviest customers throughout a number of platforms, together with TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Meta AI. As an illustration, 82% of Black teenagers use Instagram in comparison with simply 55% of White teenagers.
Age: Older teenagers aged 15 to 17 constantly outpace youthful ones aged 13 to 14 in utilizing almost each platform. Notably, ChatGPT and Meta AI skew older, doubtless because of their utility in schoolwork and productiveness.
Revenue: Teenagers from lower- and middle-income households are extra energetic on Fb and TikTok, whereas ChatGPT is extra frequent amongst higher-income teenagers.
Partisan ID: Teenagers figuring out as Democrats are extra doubtless than Republican teenagers to make use of TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, and YouTube. That is necessary context for marketing campaign messaging and issue-based advertising and marketing.

Pew Research - Teen use of some online platforms varies by age, race and ethnicity and gender

And let’s not overlook time spent on-line. Practically all teenagers are on-line day by day, with 40% saying they’re virtually continually related. That quantity climbs to 55% for Black teenagers and 52% for Hispanic teenagers.

What entrepreneurs ought to know

In case you’re concentrating on Gen Z, your technique can’t be constructed on assumptions from even two years in the past. Right here’s what right this moment’s knowledge suggests:

1. Chatbots have gotten the brand new “influencers” for search and information

With 64% of teenagers utilizing AI chatbots and almost one in three utilizing them day by day, these instruments are not fringe. Entrepreneurs ought to take into consideration how their model’s info is offered in chatbot responses. Structured knowledge, conversational search engine marketing, and useful FAQ content material matter greater than ever.

Pew Research - About 3 in 10 teens say they use AI chatbots daily

2. YouTube nonetheless issues, in all probability greater than ever

TikTok could get the headlines, however YouTube will get the eye. With day by day use spanning all demographic teams, YouTube remains to be the best choice for longform content material, creator collaborations, and academic content material. Manufacturers that overlook this channel danger lacking the majority of youngster engagement.

3. Platform technique have to be segmented by earnings, race, and age

Gen Z will not be one-size-fits-all. Decrease-income teenagers over-index on Fb, whereas ChatGPT is extra frequent in prosperous properties. Black and Hispanic teenagers use Instagram and TikTok at greater charges than White teenagers. Phase your content material and campaigns to match these patterns.

4. AI is turning into native to teen habits

Teenagers are integrating AI into schoolwork, leisure, and on a regular basis conversations. Entrepreneurs shouldn’t concern AI however ought to perceive the way it modifications content material expectations. Manufacturers can experiment with AI instruments for engagement, however authenticity should stay a precedence.

5. At all times-on habits calls for smarter content material timing

With 36% of teenagers utilizing at the very least one social platform virtually continually, the normal notion of “peak posting instances” could also be out of date. This presents a chance for real-time campaigns, chatbot-driven assist, or always-available academic content material.

Pew’s 2025 knowledge confirms what digital strategists have lengthy suspected. Gen Z’s on-line habits are advanced, deeply social, and more and more AI-native. Entrepreneurs who need to sustain must assume platform by platform, section by section, and keep versatile as instruments like chatbots shift how younger folks work together with manufacturers.

This isn’t about chasing tendencies. It’s about adapting to a brand new form of digital fluency—one the place AI is as regular as Instagram and content material is consumed at each hour of the day.

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