Background: Cigarette smoking has been associated with adverse neurobiological effects; however, its impact on cognitive functioning in young adults is often underexplored. Chronic exposure to nicotine and other toxic constituents of tobacco smoke may impair attention, memory and executive function. Conventional cognitive screening tools may lack sensitivity for detecting early cognitive changes, highlighting the potential role of artificial intelligence (AI)–based digital assessments. Objective: We assessed the viability of digital evaluation and used an AI-based software to compare cognitive function in young adult smokers and non-smokers. Method: A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted among 128 healthy participants aged 18– 30 years. Participants were equally divided into smokers (n = 64) and non-smokers (n = 64) using convenience sampling. Cognitive domains including memory, attention, and executive function were assessed using the CogniFit AI-based Cognitive Assessment Battery. Individuals with neurological or psychiatric disorders, head injury, or use of psychoactive substances other than nicotine were excluded. Group comparisons were performed using independent-samples t-test. Result: Group scores were compared using independent-samples t-tests. In every domain, smokers performed noticeably lower than non-smokers. In terms of demographics, the nonsmoker group was more gender balanced (47% male, 53% female; χ²(1) = 13.33, p <.001), while 78% of smokers were men and 22% were women. The AI-based assessment effectively distinguished cognitive performance between groups. Conclusion: Young adult smokers exhibit significant impairments in key cognitive functions when compared with non-smokers. These variations were successfully identified by the CogniFit AI-based evaluation, indicating that digital tools may enable remote cognitive function screening. Future research should examine how to include these technologies into programs for monitoring cognitive health and quitting smoking.