By: Mary Gatta
Employers increasingly report that AI skills are important for recent college graduates.
At the same time, however, there is growing evidence and attention to Gen Z’s resistance to AI:
- In NACE’s 2026 Student Survey, nearly one-third of graduating seniors believe having AI skills—such as asking effective questions/prompts or checking AI outputs—will be of little or no importance to their future career. Even more—just over half—say they aren’t building AI skills for the future now.
- In a June 2026 survey by Inside Higher Ed, 25% of college students reported they are resistant to AI and avoid using it, and another 20% are anxious about the impact of AI on their futures.
- At commencement ceremonies this spring, some students made their skepticism audible, booing commencement ceremony speakers who praised AI.
The result is a striking disconnect: Employers are increasingly asking graduates to be ready for AI, while a significant portion of students are asking whether AI deserves a place in their work at all.
AI, Students, and the Job Search
In addition to gauging students’ general attitudes about AI, our survey looked at if—and how—they used AI in the job search.
Overall, less than half of graduating seniors said they used AI in their search, with these being the most popular uses:
- Edit job application materials
- Research jobs
- Conduct mock interviews
- Ask AI for career advice
Those who reported that they did not use AI to assist in their job search were asked why.
Nearly two-thirds of this group said they “would rather do it themselves,” and more than half said they didn’t need AI or never considered it. A sizeable chunk—more than two out of five—cited AI’s negative impact on the environment, and nearly as many said they thought AI was not accurate or helpful.
Some students took the opportunity to provide an open-ended response, offering sentiments that ranged from “I can think for myself” to more visceral answers, such as “AI is an abomination” and “It is a danger to us as a species.”
Major Makes a Difference
The overall numbers don’t tell the whole story, and data from our 2026 Student Survey show some interesting nuances.
In particular, when we examine results by major, there are stark differences in adoption. Among graduating seniors, business majors are far more likely to view AI skills as important to their future than others. They are also more likely to report that they are building AI skills now for the future and more inclined to say they haven’t done so yet but plan to.(See Table 1.)
These differences are also evident when we look at use of AI in the job search by major: Two-thirds of business majors reported they have done so. Among the other majors, less than half had used it.
Table 1: AI attitudes by major (graduating seniors)
| Importance of AI skills to future career | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Extremely/very important | Somewhat important | A little/not at all important | |
| Business (N = 332) | 65.1% | 22.6% | 12.3% |
| STEM (N = 589) | 38.2% | 33.3% | 28.5% |
| Liberal Arts (N = 545) | 27.0% | 27.0% | 46.1% |
| Public Service (N = 163) | 35.0% | 36.2% | 28.8% |
| Building AI skills for the future | |||
| Yes | No | Not yet, but planning to do so | |
| Business (N = 332) | 52.1% | 27.1% | 20.8% |
| STEM (N = 589) | 30.2% | 53.3% | 16.5% |
| Liberal Arts (N = 546) | 23.4% | 62.3% | 14.3% |
| Public Service (N = 163) | 33.1% | 48.5% | 18.4% |
| Used AI in job search | |||
| Yes | No | ||
| Business (N = 246) | 66.7% | 33.3% | |
| STEM (N = 430) | 44.7% | 55.3% | |
| Liberal Arts (N = 375) | 36.5% | 63.5% | |
| Public Service (N = 108) | 38.0% | 62.0% | |
Mixed Expectations
Public sentiment toward AI has soured over the past year, with a recent Economist/YouGov poll finding that more than 70% ofAmericans think AI is advancing too quickly. In addition, AI executives have tempered the expectations about AI and jobs that they were touting just a year ago.
Given that, it’s not surprising that AI adoption among students is a mixed bag. Although the data indicate students overall are not convinced AI matters for their future, we see that students in business programs take a different view. They are more willing to use AI in their job search and more inclined to see AI skills as important to their future success.
What sets these students apart from their peers? It may be, in part, a factor of the jobs and workplace cultures these students will be entering. Or, it may be that business students are reading the tea leaves and anticipate that the portion of employers looking for new graduates to bring AI skills to early career jobs will continue to rise.
Right now, it is too early to tell what the long-term impact of AI will be on early career talent, but it is obvious that students have mixed expectations and views on the ways AI will impact their careers.
*****
NACE’s 2026 Student Survey was conducted March 12 – May 15, 2026. More than 17,000 students from 258 colleges and universities nationwide took part, including more than 1,860 graduating seniors.
Mary Gatta, Ph.D.,is the director of research and public policy for NACE. Dr. Gatta has more than 20 years of teaching, research, and advocacy experience at colleges and in nonprofit organizations where she worked on issues of career education and workforce development.
Dr. Gatta’s work is centered on evidence-based research analysis to develop new solutions to current problems—particularly around economic security, education, and workforce policies. In all her research projects, she uses an equity and intersectionality lens.
Prior to joining NACE, Dr. Gatta served as an associate professor of sociology at City University of New York-Guttman and faculty director of the Ethnographies of Work program. In addition, she was the research director at the Rutgers University Center for Women and Work and a senior scholar at Wider Opportunities for Women in Washington D.C. Dr. Gatta also served on New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s Labor and Workforce Development Transition Team.
Dr. Gatta received her bachelor’s degree in social science from Providence College and her master’s and Ph.D. in sociology from Rutgers University.
She can be reached at mgatta@naceweb.org.
