What do teachers actually use AI for?
Teachers use AI to plan, mostly. Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation asked 2,232 US public K-12 teachers in March and April 2025 how often they used AI for nine jobs, and preparing to teach came first. Grading came near the bottom.
The order tells you where the time goes. Worksheets (33%), modified materials (28%) and admin such as parent emails (28%) all sit well above grading. In the Gallup survey, published 24 June 2025, 60% of teachers had used AI that school year and 32% used it at least weekly. The weekly users estimated they save 5.9 hours a week. Gallup puts that at about six weeks over a school year.
Other surveys land in the same place, though they don't ask the same people. RAND found 53% of US English, math and science teachers used AI for school in 2025, up more than 15 points in one to two years. EdWeek Research Center's count went from 34% of teachers in 2023 and 32% in 2024 to 61% in 2025, Education Week reported on 12 January 2026. Our AI in education statistics page has the full set, by country and grade.
Most teachers are deciding this on their own. Gallup's follow-up of 2,069 teachers, fielded 9 February to 2 March 2026, found only 18% get formal guidance from administrators on how to use AI at work. On grading and student feedback, 58% get no guidance at all. That's why the student data column in the next table matters more than the tool count.
Which AI tools are free for teachers in October 2026?
Seven AI offers are free for teachers as of 11 October 2026, and four come from the companies that make the big models. We read each vendor's own page that day. The table keeps to what each one states about who qualifies, model training and student data, quoted where the wording matters.
| Offer, as of 11 October 2026 | Who gets it free | How long, or the catch | Trains on your chats? | What the vendor says about student data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT for Teachers (OpenAI) | Verified US K-12 teachers, staff and administrators; not students | Free through June 2028 | "Not used to train our models by default" | "FERPA-aligned protections and a student data privacy agreement" |
| Claude for Teachers (Anthropic) | Verified US K-12 educators, 18 and over | Sign up by 30 June 2027 for a full year | No: "Training is off for verified teacher accounts" | K-12 Data Processing Addendum; identifiable student information "requires authorization from the school or district" |
| Gemini for Education (Google) | Anyone on a school Google Workspace for Education account where the admin allows it | Included in all Workspace for Education editions, including the free Fundamentals | "Your data is not human-reviewed or used to train AI models" | Google says it "supports compliance with" COPPA and FERPA |
| Microsoft Copilot Chat | Staff, and students 13 and over, signed in with a school Microsoft 365 A1, A3 or A5 account | No cost; the full Microsoft 365 Copilot is $18 a user a month on the academic offer | Not used to train foundation models | Supports FERPA "for properly configured implementations"; web search queries are not covered |
| Khanmigo for Teachers (Khan Academy) | Educators 18 and over in more than 180 countries and territories | Free; student access is US only and paid | Not stated on the teacher pages | Keeps "your work and your student data private and secure"; no FERPA or COPPA terms on the page |
| MagicSchool | Individual teachers, "Forever Free" | 80+ tools free; unlimited generations need Plus at $8.33 a month billed yearly or $12.99 monthly | "Does not use personal information to train" AI models | Lists FERPA and COPPA compliance; a custom data privacy agreement is Enterprise only |
| Brisk Teaching | Teachers, as a Chrome and Edge extension | 20+ tools on a standard model, with an upload limit on batch feedback | Not stated in its privacy policy | "FERPA and COPPA compliant"; serves schools as a "School Official" under FERPA |
Five of the seven are open to a teacher alone: ChatGPT for Teachers, Claude for Teachers, Khanmigo, MagicSchool and Brisk. Gemini for Education and Copilot Chat only come on a school account, so the district has already signed their terms, which makes them the safest place for anything near student work. Of the five you can open alone, only OpenAI and Anthropic name a student data agreement on the free account. Anthropic's 28 August 2026 update still says the district has to authorize identifiable student information.
Each one wins a different job. ChatGPT for Teachers is the broadest free assistant for a verified US teacher, with Canva, Google Drive and Microsoft 365 connections, per OpenAI's announcement. Claude for Teachers is the one wired to standards: it connects to Learning Commons, which maps academic standards in all 50 states, and brings in OpenSciEd and Illustrative Mathematics. Gemini in Classroom lists more than a dozen educator tools on the web in every Workspace for Education edition, from "Outline a lesson plan" to "Create a rubric", though drafting feedback on written assignments needs the paid Education Plus edition or the Teaching & Learning add-on. Outside the US, Khanmigo is the free pick, in more than 180 countries since Khan Academy's 4 December 2025 update.
Page-one lists for this query run from 10 to 17 tools. This one stops at seven on purpose: these are the offers that publish both a free teacher plan and their terms for student data, and the data terms are the part those lists rarely check. Those lists also name Canva for Education, Diffit, Curipod and NotebookLM. We didn't check their data terms for this table, so read each one's privacy page before anything near student work goes in.
Can teachers put student names into ChatGPT or Gemini?
Not into a personal account, and not into a teacher account either until your district says yes. FERPA's definition of personally identifiable information in 34 CFR 99.3 starts with "The student's name" and runs on to the parent's name, the family address and a student number, according to the Department of Education. For children under 13, the FTC's COPPA guidance puts the decision with the school, not you: "As a best practice, we recommend that schools or school districts decide whether a particular site's or service's information practices are appropriate, rather than delegating that decision to the teacher."
The teacher editions don't change who decides. Anthropic covers student information under its K-12 Data Processing Addendum and says Claude for Teachers is "FERPA-configured to process student records", with the district's authorization. OpenAI says ChatGPT for Teachers gives staff "a place to use AI with classroom materials and student data", under a student data privacy agreement. Microsoft says Copilot Chat supports FERPA for prompts and responses, and that "FERPA compliance does not apply to web search queries" (Microsoft Learn).
Personal accounts are the riskier default. Google's Gemini Apps privacy hub says "Please don't enter confidential information that you wouldn't want a reviewer to see", because a subset of chats is read by human reviewers while Keep Activity is on. ChatGPT Free, Plus and Pro use your chats for training unless you switch off "Improve the model for everyone" under Data controls, OpenAI says. Business, Enterprise and Edu are excluded by default.
So the working rule is short. Write [Student A] or "a Grade 4 reader who mixes up fractions" instead of a name. Keep grades, IEP details and behavior notes out. Put the real details back in your gradebook or student information system, never in the chat. What never to paste into an AI chat has the full list.
Eight AI prompts teachers can copy, with no student data in them
Each prompt names the grade, the task and the format, and uses a placeholder wherever a student would be. Paste it into any of the seven tools above and swap the bracketed parts for your own.
| Task | Prompt to paste | Check before you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Lesson plan | "Plan a 45-minute Grade 7 science lesson on [topic], aligned to [standard code]. Include a 5-minute hook, direct teaching, a paired activity and a three-question exit ticket. List the materials. Mark any fact I should check." | Every fact it marked, and the timing against your bell schedule |
| Differentiation | "Rewrite the passage below at a Grade 3, a Grade 5 and a Grade 8 reading level. Keep every fact. After each version, list five key words with a one-line definition a student that age would understand." Then paste the passage. | That no fact changed between the three versions |
| Rubric | "Build a four-level rubric for a Grade 10 argument essay on four criteria: claim, evidence, reasoning and conventions. Describe each level in things a reader can see on the page, under 25 words a cell, as a table." | That level 3 and level 4 differ in something you can point to |
| Quiz | "Write ten multiple-choice questions on [topic] for Grade 6. Each has one right answer and three wrong answers built on common mistakes. Give the answer key and name the mistake behind each wrong answer." | The answer key, item by item |
| Exit ticket | "Write three exit ticket questions for a lesson on [objective]: one recall, one apply, one explain. Then write what a full-credit answer to each looks like." | That the full-credit answers match what you taught |
| Parent email | "Write a 120-word email to a parent about three missed homework assignments. Use [Parent] and [Student] as placeholders. Warm and factual, no blame, one specific next step, and offer [Time 1] or [Time 2] for a call." | Fill the placeholders in your school email, not in the chat |
| Feedback bank | "Here is my rubric: [paste]. For each criterion, write three comments on what went well and three on what to do next, each under 20 words, that a Grade 8 student could act on tomorrow." | That the comments use your rubric's words |
| Family newsletter | "Translate this class newsletter into Spanish at a plain reading level. Keep dates and times as written, and list any phrase you changed because it would not translate." | Have a fluent colleague read it before it goes home |
Two habits make these work. Give the model your own material (the passage, the standard, last year's unit plan) instead of asking from nothing. And ask for the format you'll actually use: a table for a rubric, numbered questions with a key for a quiz. A generic answer is usually a generic prompt.
Where do AI teacher assistants go wrong?
AI teacher assistants go wrong on bias and on high-stakes documents. Common Sense Media rated them "Moderate Risk" on 6 August 2025, after testing Gemini in Google Classroom, Khanmigo's Teacher Assistant, Curipod and MagicSchool. Its report found that tools writing IEPs and behavior plans "can demonstrate problematic bias based on perceived student backgrounds". Robbie Torney, its senior director of AI programs, said these tools "can act as 'invisible influencers' shaping what students learn in ways that neither teachers nor students realize."
The fix Common Sense proposes is the same one the prompts above use. Build on curricula you already trust, review every output for accuracy and bias before it reaches a class, and keep AI away from IEPs and behavior plans. Teachers who grade with AI are less sure of it, too. In the 2025 Gallup survey, 57% of teachers who used AI for grading and feedback said it improved quality. That was the lowest of the three tasks Gallup highlighted; for modified materials it was 64%.
Should a teacher use ChatGPT, Claude or a teacher tool?
Use the free teacher edition your situation allows. A verified US K-12 teacher should start with ChatGPT for Teachers or Claude for Teachers: both are free, both keep chats out of training, and both name a student data agreement. If your school runs Google Workspace for Education or Microsoft 365, Gemini or Copilot Chat is already on your school account under terms the district signed. Outside the US, Khanmigo is free in more than 180 countries, and MagicSchool and Brisk give you ready-made rubric, quiz and feedback tools on a free plan.
Whizi, which publishes this page, loses to that list on price for any verified US teacher. The teacher editions are free; Whizi Starter is $15.99 a month, or $10.99 billed yearly. It has no student data agreement, no Google Classroom or gradebook connection, and its privacy policy says the service is not directed to children under 13. Where it fits is narrower: a teacher outside the US who wants GPT and Claude models on one login from Starter (Gemini from Pro). The prompt rules above can live once in a Project, so every new chat starts from the same brief. Projects take instructions of up to 32,000 characters on any signed-in account, and the same no-names rule applies to them exactly as written.
- Ask your district which AI tool it has approved before you sign up for anything; the FTC recommends the school, not the teacher, makes that call
- If you are a US K-12 teacher, verify for ChatGPT for Teachers (free through June 2028) or Claude for Teachers (sign up by 30 June 2027)
- Use [Student A] or a description instead of a name, and keep grades, IEP details and behavior notes out of every prompt
- On a personal ChatGPT account, turn off "Improve the model for everyone" under Data controls; on personal Gemini, turn off Keep Activity
- Give the model your own passage, standard or unit plan, and ask for the exact format you will use
- Check every fact, answer key and translation before it reaches a student, and keep AI away from IEPs and behavior plans
Frequently asked questions
Is ChatGPT free for teachers?
Yes, for verified US K-12 educators. OpenAI says ChatGPT for Teachers is free through June 2028 for teachers, staff, school leaders and district administrators at accredited US schools, and it isn't for students. Teachers outside the US have no teacher edition; the free ChatGPT plan trains on chats unless you switch that off, and ChatGPT free vs paid covers what Plus adds.
What is the best free AI for teachers?
For a verified US K-12 teacher, ChatGPT for Teachers or Claude for Teachers, because both are free and both come with a student data agreement. On a school Google or Microsoft account, Gemini in Classroom (more than a dozen educator tools in every edition) or Copilot Chat. Outside the US, Khanmigo for Teachers, free in more than 180 countries, or a free ChatGPT alternative with names kept out.
Can AI grade student work?
It can draft feedback, but few teachers lean on it and most have no rules for it. In Gallup's 2025 survey 16% of US public school teachers used AI to grade at least monthly, and in February 2026, 58% said they had no guidance on AI for grading and feedback. Strip the name before you paste any student work, use a tool your district approved, and keep the final grade yours.
