Gen Z Is Using AI, But They’re Also Starting to Hate It

It’s been nearly three years since Silicon Valley decided that large language model chatbots—ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, you name it—are the inevitable future of everything. And if you’ve been paying attention, you’ve noticed that no group has been pushed harder to adopt them than Gen Z.

Young people have always been early adopters. It’s practically a law of tech. So it’s no surprise that students and early-career workers are among the heaviest users of AI tools. But here’s the twist: polling data now shows that Gen Z is also a major force behind the growing cultural backlash against AI. They’re using it, sure. But they’re also deeply unhappy about it.

This isn’t just a few vocal critics on Twitter. The data paints a clear picture: a significant chunk of Gen Z users feel resentful, anxious, and even angry about the role AI is playing in their lives. They’re not rejecting the technology outright—they can’t afford to, given how deeply it’s been integrated into education and entry-level work. But the enthusiasm that marked the early days has curdled into something more complicated.

I’ve seen this pattern before. Remember when everyone was obsessed with Facebook, then suddenly it was the platform your parents used? AI might be heading for a similar reckoning, but with higher stakes. The difference here is that young people aren’t just bored—they’re worried. Worried about their jobs, their privacy, their creative work being scraped and regurgitated. Worried that the tools they’re forced to use are making them dumber, not smarter.

The irony isn’t lost on me. Tech companies like OpenAI and Google keep pushing the narrative that AI is a liberating force, especially for the next generation. But the people actually using it day-to-day are starting to push back. They see the hype, they’ve tried the products, and they’re not buying what’s being sold.

This is higher than I expected, honestly. I figured young people would be more willing to roll with it—they’ve grown up with algorithmic feeds, after all. But the polling suggests something deeper is happening. Maybe it’s the forced adoption in schools. Maybe it’s the creeping sense that AI isn’t making work easier, just more surveilled and standardized. Maybe it’s the realization that the tech isn’t as smart as it pretends to be.

Whatever the cause, the honeymoon is over. And if I were a VC still pouring money into AI startups, I’d be paying close attention to this shift. Because when the people who are supposed to be your most loyal users start to turn, you’ve got a problem that no amount of press releases can fix.

The full story is over at The Verge, and it’s worth reading if you want the detailed polling breakdown. But the headline is simple: Gen Z is using AI, and they’re starting to hate it.