A quarter of students in Germany use artificial intelligence on a daily basis

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly becoming part of everyday student life at German universities. Around two thirds of students use AI tools such as ChatGPT at least once a week, a quarter even use them daily. The use of general research and translations varies greatly depending on the subject. Students tend not to be satisfied with the existing offerings for acquiring AI skills at their university. This is shown by one of the largest surveys at German universities on this topic as part of the CHE University Ranking from the winter semester 2024/25.

The majority of students regularly use AI tools

The applications of artificial intelligence (AI) have developed rapidly in recent years. A quarter of students (25%) in Germany now use the possibilities of artificial intelligence on a daily basis, with a further 40% using it at least weekly. Only one in 16 students say they have never used AI in their studies.

This is shown by a current analysis from the CHE Centre for Higher Education. The data is based on a survey of 23,288 students at German and Austrian universities from the winter semester 2024/25. Students from various fields of study were surveyed, including engineering, psychology, German studies and Romance studies.

Frequency of AI use depends on the subject

As in a similar survey conducted by the CHE a year earlier, there are differences in the frequency of AI use depending on the subject. The highest proportion of regular AI users during their studies in this survey was recorded in the subject of mechatronics with more than 75 per cent. Among students in the Civil and Environmental Engineering subject group, only around half use ChatGPT or other AI systems at least once a week.

There are also subject-specific differences for the various purposes for which AI is used. While around 60 per cent of students in mechatronics use AI tools for general research at least once a week, the proportion in German studies is only one third.

ChatGPT & Co. as sparring partners, but less as ghostwriters

Students most frequently use the possibilities of AI as a ‘sparring partner’ for general research or as a brainstorming tool.

“For text creation or literature research, however, AI as a ghostwriter has so far played a less important role for students. A third of the anonymously surveyed students stated that they had never used ChatGPT to generate texts during their studies,” says study author Marc Hüsch. ‘Students’ high expectations of clear guidelines for dealing with AI also speak in favour of a critical and reflective approach to the use of AI in everyday student life.’

Offerings for acquiring AI skills at universities still need to be expanded

Even though students already frequently use artificial intelligence across all subjects as part of their studies, there do not yet appear to be any comprehensive programmes for acquiring AI skills at German universities or departments. On average, students rate the existing programmes for acquiring AI skills with only 2.7 out of 5 stars.

‘Universities should ensure that all students benefit equally from the application possibilities by offering comprehensive programmes for acquiring AI skills,’ says Marc Hüsch. ‘AI skills should therefore be anchored in the curriculum and the use of AI should become an integral part of scientific methodology.’

About the study

The evaluation is based on a survey conducted as part of the CHE University Ranking 2025 in the winter semester 2024/25. 23,288 students in undergraduate degree programmes from the third semester onwards at 171 universities throughout Germany and Austria were surveyed. The range of subjects is based on the rotation of the CHE University Ranking, in which one third of all subjects are updated or students are surveyed annually. The survey covered various subjects (groups), including psychology and various subjects from the field of engineering.

The authors of the study ‘DatenCHECK – Künstliche Intelligenz im Studium – Die Sicht der Studierende im Wintersemester 2024/25’ (DataCHECK Artificial intelligence in higher education – the students’ perspective in the winter semester 2024/25) are Marc Hüsch and Nina Horstmann from the CHE Centre for Higher Education and Andreas Breiter from the University of Bremen.