by BrainStream CEO Steve Alcorn A new report from Common Sense Media looks at how American teens ages 13 to 17 are engaging with AI companions, based on a nationally representative survey of 1,060 teens conducted in April and May 2025. Notably, a third of teens reported using AI companions for social interaction and relationship support. Source:…
by BrainStream CEO Steve Alcorn In a provocative column from The New York Times (July 3, 2025), David Brooks highlights the growing cognitive risks of over-relying on AI tools for thinking and writing. Citing new research by M.I.T.’s Nataliya Kosmyna, Brooks explores how students who used large language models (LLMs) to generate essays retained less knowledge, showed…
by BrainStream CEO Steve Alcorn In an era where free AI tools like ChatGPT tempt students to shortcut genuine learning, BrainStream stands apart by turning AI from a threat into an accountability ally. Unlike generic AI tutors that freely roam the internet for answers, BrainStream restricts itself to your school’s chosen course materials—ensuring students truly…
by Chief Financial Officer Chia-Hua (Phyllis) Chen As AI continues to reshape the educational landscape, user acquisition and retention have become the new strategic battlegrounds for AI-driven EdTech startups. In 2025, the average customer acquisition cost (CAC) for education platforms has surged by 19% YoY, now averaging $42 per user. This uptick is largely due…
by BrainStream Chief Marketing Officer Ya-Hui (Laura) Kao In “AI Content Marketing 101: Strategies from Someone Who Lives It,” Mateusz Makosiewicz of Ahrefs delves into the transformative role of AI in content marketing. Drawing from personal experience, Makosiewicz illustrates how AI serves as an indispensable tool, enhancing productivity and creativity. He emphasizes that AI is…
Based on Bauer et al., “Looking Beyond the Hype: Understanding the Effects of AI on Learning” (2025) As AI technologies rapidly reshape classrooms, a recent reflection by Bauer et al. (2025) in Educational Psychology Review urges educators and policymakers to temper excitement with empirical scrutiny. The paper introduces the ISAR model—Inversion, Substitution, Augmentation, Redefinition—to help categorize how…
by BrainStream CEO Steve Alcorn AI is revolutionizing the way students engage with specific texts—whether it’s a Shakespearean play, a history textbook, or a science manual. Unlike generic study aids, AI-powered tools can guide learners through the entire content of a particular text, offering a personalized and structured path to mastery. These tools break the…
A recent preprint titled Pedagogical Biases in AI-Powered Educational Tools: The Case of Lesson Plan Generators critically examines how AI-driven platforms like MagicSchool, SchoolAI, and GPT-4 generate lesson plans that often reinforce outdated, teacher-centered pedagogies. Analyzing 90 AI-generated lesson plans, the study found a consistent pattern: these tools tend to produce structured, predictable lessons that prioritize…
by Chief Financial Officer Chia-Hua (Phyllis) Chen In 2025, AI-driven education startups are at the forefront of a dynamic and challenging market. The average revenue multiple for EdTech companies has declined to 8.1x, a significant drop from 17.6x in 2024, indicating a recalibration in market expectations post-pandemic. Despite this contraction, the AI education sector remains…
by BrainStream Chief Marketing Officer Ya-Hui (Laura) Kao Throughout history, transformative technologies have trickled down from governments and corporations to individuals—think GPS, flight, or the internet. But large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT have turned that script on its head. For the first time, a groundbreaking technology is giving individuals the biggest boost. LLMs are…
