The Impact of Generative AI Educational Chatbots on the Academic Support Experiences of Students in U.S. Research Universities
The integration of educational chatbots that use generative AI (GenAI) into the academic support experience of international students at U.S. Research Universities has a multi-faceted impact on their educational journey. This article examines, through a literature review, the impact of educational chatbots that use generative AI on the experiences of international students in academic support. My findings show that using AI to enhance students’ academic performance is beneficial. I gathered and evaluated content from three databases, analyzed and synthesized data from various journals, and then compared the results.
Chatbots with artificial intelligence (AI), which are part of academic support systems in universities around the world (Mageira, 2022; Wang, 2023), are becoming more common (Mageira, 2022, 2023). These interactive tools offer real-time learning feedback, personalized experiences, and self-regulated learning support (Chukwuere & Handoko, 2024). According to the literature, generative AI chatbots can be defined as interactive tools powered by AI that simulate human conversations, correct mistakes in writing, answer questions, and assist students with their academic tasks (Bimpong et al., 2024). Biswas (2023), a leading expert in the field, predicts that AI chatbots will have a significant impact on higher education. Okonkwo & Ade-Ibijola (2021) suggest that chatbots can enhance services, lower staffing costs, and drive innovation within higher education institutions. AI chatbots are also used by students in higher education to improve their writing, ask questions about course material, and generate content (Bimpong et al., 2024; Wang et al., 2023).
Al-Abdullatif (2023) has shown the importance of chatbots in assisting international students. The study included the analysis of peer-reviewed papers to arrive at conclusions. Documents were chosen based on the research question and publication date, and then critically analyzed and evaluated. The study asked the question: How can generative AI educational bots improve the learning experience for international students at U.S. research universities?
Previous Study
Following a literature review, several key findings emerged about the experiences and use of AI by students. There has been a lot of discussion about AI and students (Chukwuere & Handoko, 2024), but there is still a significant gap in research regarding the experiences and AI usage by international students in the U.S. Recent studies have explored the impact of educational chatbots that use generative AI on higher education. The question remains, however, whether these technologies will be beneficial or harmful for certain subsets.
Chatbots that use AI to generate educational content have the potential to improve student support, administrative efficiency, and research processes (Chukwuere & Handoko, 2024). Segovia Garcia (2024) found that chatbots could provide students with efficient, personalized support on academic and administrative issues. Chatbots are able to give instant feedback, which has been linked with improved student engagement and learning outcomes (Lin & Ye, 2023). Al-Abdullatif et al. (2023) confirmed these findings by showing that chatbots could improve the learning strategies of students and their motivation.
Even with these important findings, it is still unclear how international students view the use of educational AI chatbots that generate content. This study was designed to assess the academic needs and views of international students at U.S. universities.
Methods
I chose documents from different journals that were focused on the implementation of generative AI educational bots in higher education institutions. Before selecting these articles, I conducted thorough research on databases like ERIC and Crossref. These documents were chosen based on authenticity, credibility, and the degree to which they related to my topic. Many articles have discussed the impact of AI in higher education. However, my research focused on the experiences of international students who study abroad, especially in the U.S.
AI Educational Chatbots: A New Way to Use Them
This study has some limitations. Document analysis alone was employed without conducting any empirical investigation, nor any direct methods for data collection like interviews or experiments; findings therefore are limited by quality, quantity and scope of documents analyzed; all papers reviewed related directly or indirectly to the topic under study.
Analysis of these documents showed that AI chatbots could significantly enhance students’ academic performances (Essel et al., 2020; Lin & Ye, 2023). These results suggested that these technologies can serve as effective ways of improving academic outcomes among international students; however cultural or social barriers (Bimpong, 2023) may hinder how they engage with it. International students who come from cultures that are less familiar with AI tools might initially have difficulty utilizing chatbots. This could affect their academic performance.
AI chatbots can provide students with immediate, customized responses 24-7 (Holmes & Tuomi 2022). Furthermore, these bots can offer personalized responses based on prior interactions and learning preferences (Lin & Ye 2023). Furthermore, chatbots may also help break down language barriers to facilitate educational material translation (Essel et al 2022). Furthermore, generative AI bots have proven to increase student engagement with dynamic and interactive learning; allowing students to ask real-time questions while receiving real-time answers (Cislowska & Acuna 2024).
These articles also examined how generative AI educational bots can raise ethical issues. As international students progress in their development, it is vital that they learn how to responsibly utilize AI tools such as search engines. It is crucial that copyright infringements, discriminatory language or inappropriate content do not occur – Lund & Wang (2023) suggests users of AI tools exercise extreme caution so as to reduce data breaches. The analysis shows that educational chatbots powered by generative AI have the potential to revolutionize the way international students interact with educational content and learn.
Conclusion
This study concluded that content analysis was used to determine the impact of educational AI chatbots powered by generative AI on the experiences of international students in the U.S. AI is a technology that has both potential advantages and challenges. However, there are also benefits. It can improve international students’ academic performance.
According to the findings of this research, international students should use generative AI ethically in order to improve their academic performance. Faculty should encourage their students to utilize critical thinking and reflect upon suggestions made by AI tools. Both students and faculty should understand their limitations as well as the significance of human judgement in the learning process.
