Is it cheating to use AI for homework? A parent's guide

It's cheating when AI does the work your child hands in as their own, or when the teacher has said no AI. Using AI to explain an idea, quiz them or check their reasoning is usually fine, and for assessed coursework, exam bodies such as JCQ (GCSEs and A-levels) and the IB allow AI as a source as long as it is acknowledged. A practical test: could your child explain the work and redo it tomorrow without the AI?

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Disclosure: this page is written by the Ask Poppy team, and Ask Poppy is one of the options. Competitor facts come from each company's own pages or its US App Store listing (checked Oct 2026) and are linked so you can verify them. We haven't run a controlled test of any of these tools, ours included.

Fine, grey or cheating?

	Usually fine	Grey area: ask the teacher	Usually cheating
Understanding	"Explain photosynthesis like I'm 12"	"Summarise this chapter for me"	Skipping the reading entirely
Practice	"Quiz me, one question at a time"	"Make me a worked example like question 3"	"Solve question 3"
Writing	"Ask me questions about my argument"	"Fix the grammar in my paragraph"	"Write my essay" or "paraphrase this so it can't be detected"
Checking	"Where did my reasoning go wrong?"	"Is my answer right?"	Copying a corrected version you don't understand

The teacher's rule always wins. If they say no AI, that includes "helpful" modes.

What the exam bodies say

JCQ (GCSE, A-level, UK): work submitted for assessment must be the student's own; AI use "when properly referenced" can be acceptable, but students "cannot be credited for any work they produce for assessment which is not their own", and misuse is malpractice (JCQ: AI use in assessments).
IB: "The IB will not ban the use of AI software", but "the IB does not regard any work produced—even only in part—by such tools, to be their own", so it must be credited and referenced (IB statement on AI).

The parent's two-minute test

Ask your child to explain the work to you without the screen.
Ask one "what if" question (what if the number were negative? what if the character had stayed?).
If they can adapt the idea, it's theirs. If they can only repeat it, the AI did the thinking.

Tools that make the line easier to hold

	How it discourages copying	Can it be switched to plain answers?	Ages
ChatGPT study mode	Guides with questions, hints and quizzes	Yes, toggle; parents can set it on by default for linked teens	13+
Gemini Guided Learning	Step-by-step guidance with visuals	Yes, normal Gemini answers directly	13+; under 13 via Family Link outside Europe
Khanmigo	Built to guide; off on Khan quizzes and tests	No answer mode described	US; children via parent
Ask Poppy	Asks what you know and gives one hint at a time	No answer mode; parents can open child conversations	App Store 4+; a parent can add up to 3 child profiles

Make it concrete: the free AI house rules generator creates a one-page family agreement, and the prompt checker shows who would do the thinking for a given request.

Sources (checked Oct 2026): JCQ: AI use in assessments · IB statement on AI · OpenAI: study mode · OpenAI: parental controls · Google: Guided Learning · Gemini Help: children · khanmigo.ai · Khan Academy Help · Ask Poppy on the App Store. Ask Poppy facts are from the current app (version 1.8.3) and its App Store listing. US prices; they vary by country and platform. Spot something out of date? Email [email protected].

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Questions

Can teachers tell if homework was done with AI?

Sometimes. JCQ lists signs teachers look for, such as a style that doesn't match a student's usual work, and names detection tools, but says their accuracy varies. The surest check is a short conversation: can the student explain the work?

Should I ban AI for homework?

A ban is simple but hard to enforce, and some schools now expect students to use AI well. Many families agree what AI may and may not do instead. Our free house rules generator gives you a starting point.

Is it cheating to use AI to check my answers?

Usually not, if the work is already yours and the teacher allows it. Checking where your reasoning went wrong is learning. Copying a corrected version you don't understand is not.

Do the IB and GCSE boards allow AI?

The IB says it won't ban AI, but AI-generated material must be credited in the text and referenced. JCQ, which covers GCSEs and A-levels, says AI use can be acceptable when properly referenced, but work submitted must be the student's own and AI misuse is malpractice.