In 2028, the oldest Gen Alpha will turn 18. When this person reaches 25 in 2035, the rest of this generation will wield immense purchasing power that, together with Gen Z, will account for 40 percent of fashion spending.
Such is the importance of the first generation that was raised at the time of smartphones and chatbots, and just in time with the evolution of generative AI. Nearly nine out of 10 kids aged nine to 17 use AI, including the 24 percent who do so every day, according to the 2026 Common Sense Media Census.
They’re so integrated with the digital world that the physical one developed its own special charm. “It’s the physical world that has novelty to them,” said Laila Carey, culture and consumer insights analyst at Future Snoops, a global forecasting agency.
In a webinar on Tuesday, analysts at Future Snoops discussed Generation Alpha and how these kids are being shaped by the economic and cultural forces around them, be they parents or AI, regulators or corporations. When asked how brands should approach this generation, Nivara Xaykao, culture and consumer insights director, said they should engage with the generation in real life, or as she phrased it, “IRL.”
“In the context of all the social media and technology bans, I would definitely embrace the in-person touch points, especially as we’ve seen young people are really drawn to the IRL experiences already, and parents are likely definitely seeking ways to engage their children in screenless activities,” Xaykao said. “I feel like that’s a happy middle ground.”
Regulations are catching up too, although not as fast as AI has been advancing. Earlier this week, the European Union started requiring companies to be more transparent about their use of AI, informing the user whether the content is AI generated or if the customer service representative is AI. These regulations are part of the AI Act, which, in 2024, became the world’s first comprehensive legal framework regulating AI. In the U.S., the federal government’s approach to AI is to not approach it and just leave regulations in the hands of the states.
How these different regulatory landscapes will raise succeeding generations remains to be seen, but a nationally representative survey last year from Common Sense Media found 73 percent of teens want AI-generated content to be labeled or watermarked. Teens who have come across any form of fake or misleading AI content are more likely to say that generative AI makes it harder for them trust the accuracy of information online compared to the rest (40 percent vs. 27 percent). “In terms of AI disclosure, we’re seeing that kids are already quite savvy about identifying content that has been produced by AI—the question is whether or not they care. In a lot of cases, they don’t care and even embrace this AI ‘slop’ aesthetic,” Xaykao said.
“I think we’re going to get to this point where AI is so woven into the front end and back end that it’s going to be hard to keep track and it won’t feel like an anomaly anymore,” she said. “People will more care about what the end product is like.”
