AI literacy for schools: the OECD–European Commission framework explained

What is AI literacy?

AI literacy is more than knowing how to use a chatbot. In the OECD and European Commission’s framework, it is a set of knowledge, skills and attitudes that equips learners to understand how AI systems work, critically evaluate their outputs and use them ethically and creatively. It also supports informed decisions about the opportunities and risks AI presents to learners and to others.

This matters now because students already use AI. In PISA 2025, only 14% of students across the OECD said they never or almost never used AI chatbots for common schoolwork tasks, and frequent users who were taught to assess AI-generated information tended to perform better. Read what PISA 2025 says about students using AI.

About the AILit framework

“Empowering Learners for the Age of AI: An AI Literacy Framework for Primary and Secondary Education” was published on 18 June 2026. It is a joint initiative of the European Commission and the OECD, developed with support from CodeAI (formerly Code.org) and international experts. A draft released in May 2025 was refined through consultation, and the developers say insights from more than 2,000 people shaped the final version.

The framework is written for teachers, school and system leaders, policymakers, learning designers and families. It contributes to the innovative domain of the PISA 2029 assessment.

The four domains

The framework presents its domains in sequence to reflect a possible learning approach. Each competence combines knowledge, skills and attitudes, with learner expectations and learning scenarios showing how it looks in practice. In broad terms:

Engage with AI

Recognising where AI is present, using it as a tool and critically evaluating what it produces. A student who notices that a recommendation feed is shaped by an algorithm, or who checks a chatbot’s claim against a textbook, is engaging with AI.

Create with AI

Working with AI on creative and problem-solving tasks while keeping ownership of the ideas, judging the quality of the result and being transparent about AI’s role.

Manage AI

Deciding when and how AI should support a task, which parts to delegate and which to keep, and overseeing the result. This is where learners practise agency and responsibility.

Shape AI

Understanding how AI systems are designed and trained, including the role of data, and considering their effects on people and society, so learners can take part in decisions about how AI is built and used.

Where AI literacy fits in the curriculum

The framework is designed to support learners across subject areas and developmental stages. That means AI literacy can live in many lessons:

• Languages: comparing an AI summary with the original text, or discussing how translation tools handle idioms.
• Science: evaluating AI explanations against evidence, and discussing how AI is used in research.
• Mathematics: checking AI-generated solutions step by step, and exploring how models use data and probability.
• Social studies: debating the fairness of automated decisions and the rules that should govern AI.
• Computing: exploring how models are trained, and building simple classifiers.
• Art and design: creating with generative tools and discussing authorship and attribution.

How to start in your school

1. Map what already exists. Many schools already teach source evaluation and digital citizenship. Identify where AI literacy extends that work.
2. Choose a few competences. Pick two or three competences per year group rather than trying to cover everything.
3. Build teacher confidence first. Teachers need their own AI literacy. The UNESCO AI competency framework for teachers is a useful self-audit.
4. Use short, repeatable activities. Our AI literacy classroom activities take 15–40 minutes each.
5. Agree shared rules. Align classroom practice with your school AI policy.