How Medical Students Use AI Tools for Studying: Insights from a Digital Diary Study

Introduction: The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into medical education is transforming how students acquire knowledge, develop clinical reasoning skills, and prepare for clinical practice. However, the nature and extent of AI adoption among medical students remain unclear. Methods: This longitudinal study recruited medical students from two osteopathic medical schools to complete a one-time intake survey and seven digital diary entries over a 21-day period. Data were analyzed using STATA 19. Multiple linear regression was used to examine the relationship between the percentage of AI use and key subgroups, adjusting for potential confounders such as age, gender, year in school, and attitudes toward AI use. Results: A total of 71 medical students completed the intake survey. The average age was 26.6 years (SD = 2.8); 39 (54.9%) identified as male and 32 (45.1%) as female. Of all participants, 55 (77.4%) were in their pre-clinical years. On average, participants reported using AI during 19.4% of their study time. Male students were more likely to use AI to create mnemonics (p=0.034), while female students were more likely to use it to create study plans (p=0.04). Students in clinical years were significantly more likely to use AI to answer practice questions compared to their pre-clinical peers (p=0.002). After adjusting for age, gender, and campus, students in clinical years reported using AI for studying 19.0 percentage points more than those in pre-clinical years (p<0.0001), and male students reported using AI 9.2 percentage points more than female students (p=0.022). Discussion: Medical students are using AI tools to enhance 15% (pre-clinical) to 30% (clinical) of their study time. Students in clinical years and male students reported significantly higher use, with clinical students more likely to use AI and mostly for answering practice questions. These findings suggest that institutions may benefit from better understanding whether and how the use of AI tools influences students’ knowledge and practice outcomes. Medical schools may find value in providing guidance on responsible AI use—emphasizing how to critically evaluate output, verify accuracy, and integrate AI effectively into evidence-based study strategies.