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Teachers’ weekly use of AI has doubled in the past year - yet this has not led to a reduction in workload for most, polling has found.

Only 35 per cent of teachers said that they were working fewer hours as a result of using AI, according to a survey for the Bett education technology exhibition.

This is despite suggesting that AI could ease pressure on teachers’ timetables.

Today’s Bett findings also come after DfE’s , launched last year, set out to test how effective AI tools have become at reducing teacher workload.

Teachers’ fading enthusiasm for AI

The figures appear in a report titled , which shares analysis of responses from 1,033 UK teachers to a survey carried out for Bett by YouGov.

For the first time since Bett started tracking teachers’ views on AI in 2024, enthusiasm for the technology has decreased: some 47 per cent expect to use AI more over the coming year, down from 68 per cent a year ago.

However, 52 per cent of teachers use AI on a weekly basis, compared with just 26 per cent reporting the same last year.

Among those teachers who use AI, 51 per cent say it has eased their workload, but only 35 per cent say they are now working fewer hours.

Some 55 per cent say that they work the same hours as before.

Teachers suspicious of AI use in pupil work

“Teachers are using AI more than ever, but their enthusiasm for it is cooling,” said Duncan Verry, portfolio director at Bett.

He added: “They tell us it saves them time on particular jobs, but most say they are not working fewer hours.

“The time comes back, and something else fills it. Teachers are still reaching for AI, but they have just stopped expecting quite so much of it.”

The findings come as the DfE has awarded a contract to a consultancy firm to establish benchmarks for the use of AI in schools.

Fears that pupils will use AI to cheat have been expressed repeatedly in recent years.

Ofqual, for example, has called on exam boards to do more to stop students from bringing mobile phones into exams or using AI to cheat in coursework.

According to Bett’s polling, carried out in June, 57 per cent of secondary teachers suspected at least one student of handing in AI-assisted work without permission in the previous four weeks.

Meanwhile, 76 per cent of secondary teachers who mark work had graded a piece they suspected was AI-generated.

Most teachers want change to coursework

While the number of cases reported to Ofqual of AI being used in coursework remains relatively low, teachers remain concerned about the real extent of AI use.

Just 4 per cent of teachers would keep extended-writing coursework exactly as it stands, the survey reveals.

Some 30 per cent want to keep coursework but bring in better detection software, while 29 per cent would replace it with writing done under supervision in class.

Meanwhile, 52 per cent of teachers expressed support for making room in the curriculum to teach children to use AI responsibly.

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