New data has emerged showing the states where AI tools to cheat with are being searched for the most, revealing Texas students to be the most likely to seek outside help.
Using AI to Write Essays
The study, conducted by AI productivity platform Plus Docs, used the search volume tool Google Keyword Planner to find the number of keywords relating to AI essay generation in each state. This total number included results from 13 search terms such as ‘AI essay writing’ and ‘Study Buddy AI’. This combined value was then scaled against the state population to reveal the number of average yearly searches per 100,000 residents.
Texas - Highest Rate of AI Cheating
The study revealed the state with the most students looking to cheat using AI is Texas, where there are 484.8 searches per 100,000 on average each year – a rise of 61% above the nationwide average (300 searches per 100,000 residents). In total, there were over 147,800 yearly searches for AI help.
Texas has one of the highest numbers of total college students across America and has one of the largest university populations in all of the US; Texas A&M has over 74,000 students enrolled. As for schools, there are more than 5.1 million students enrolled.
Top 3 States Seeking AI Assistance
In second place, residents in Georgia are the second most likely to seek help from AI, with a rate of 471.6 average yearly searches per 100,000 people. Georgia has around 4,300 searches each month looking for AI tools to help with schoolwork and exams.
According to the Georgia Department of Education’s latest data, there are over 530,500 high school students in the state. The biggest college in Georgia is the Institute of Technology, which has a population of over 45,200 students
Ranking third is Florida. In the state, there are 461.6 average yearly searches per 100,000 people, equating to 104,000 searches each year.
Florida is home to three colleges of the top ten most populated in America, with the University of Central Florida having the third largest population overall with over 68,300 students. As for school-aged children, Florida has an average of 1,716.6 students per public school according to the state’s Department of Education – this is nearly double the national average of 875.7 students.
Can AI Be Safely Leveraged for Students?
Commenting on the findings, Daniel Li, CEO and cofounder of Plus Docs, said:
“Over two thirds of those in the top ten are Southern states, signaling the region as the area that needs to address the ethical implications of AI and its use by students urgently. Texas, Georgia and Florida rank highly, and it is especially interesting that this is the case given that, between them, they have five of the top ten largest university enrollment figures. Perhaps the popularity of such tools is reflective of the highly competitive environment to perform well in such large student bodies.
“Responsible use of AI can be key in enriching an academic argument, but it must not be used to write entire essays or to cheat on exams. Using AI can really help take a student from lower grades to the top ones if they know how to use it properly. Teachers and online detection systems are becoming better are recognizing AI and so it is important not to let it generate work for you, but to use it as a tool for further help and exploration into a topic.”
