At Young Life, we’ve spent decades showing up in adolescents’ lives: at their games, in their cafeterias, at the coffee shop, because we believe every kid deserves at least one adult who’s really listening. So when we set out to update our RELATE Project research this year, we wanted to understand something that’s changed dramatically since our first study in 2024: how AI is showing up in the middle of that search for connection.
The short answer? Almost everywhere. Nearly all teens and young adults we surveyed, 89%, use AI in some way, and usage is highest among the youngest teens in our study, ages 13-15. But the more important finding isn’t that they’re using AI. It’s how.
More Than a Third Have an “AI Companion”
Over one-third of the young people we talked to (35%) say they have an AI companion, and among Gen Alpha (ages 13-15), that number jumps to 45%. Six in 10 of those with an AI companion say they’re more comfortable with it than with some of their actual friends or family. Twelve percent cope with stress by talking to their AI companion, and nearly one in 10 would turn to AI first if they needed advice on something difficult.
It’s not hard to see why. AI is patient. It doesn’t get distracted, doesn’t gossip, doesn’t judge. As one young woman in a focus group put it, AI offers “conversations based on empathy, free of judgment.” For a generation that ranks confidentiality as the single most important ingredient in trust, an AI that never repeats what you tell it can feel like the safest confidant around.
But Here’s the Twist: They Still Want a Face
Despite all that AI use, teens told us, clearly and repeatedly, that they crave real, face-to-face connection more than ever. Sixty-four percent say their preferred way to connect with close friends is in person, up significantly from 54% just three years ago. And when it really counts, when they need advice on something difficult, 70% say they’d rather talk to a trusted person than ask AI or search online.
That’s the paradox at the heart of this year’s findings: AI looks like what young people are craving, but it isn’t what they actually want. It’s filling a gap, not closing it.
The Gap We’re Called to Fill
That gap is real. Four in 10 young people aren’t fully confident they have an adult in their life who’s genuinely interested in listening to them. And the number of close relationships teens report has actually shrunk, from an average of 5.3 in 2023 to 4.4 today.
That’s not a technology problem we can code our way out of. It’s a relationship problem, and it’s exactly the kind of problem Young Life leaders have been addressing for decades: one conversation, one act of showing up, one kept confidence at a time.
AI can mimic empathy. It cannot replace it. Belonging isn’t built through an algorithm; it’s built through consistency, presence, and a real face that keeps showing up.
Want the full picture? Explore the complete 2026 RELATE Project findings
