Chatbot for Education: Benefits, Challenges and Opportunities

Therefore, learning the use of AI tools has become a necessity for career growth today. AI will only become more prevalent over time, and its application in education will grow rapidly. It can be said that AI-based chatbots might just become the limelight of eLearning solutions. For example, a chatbot designed for college students may use casual language and humor, while a chatbot designed for faculty may be more formal and business-like. Chatbots ease administrative processes, serving as an efficient interface between students and departments. They help in obtaining information on fee structures, course details, scholarships, and school events.

A chatbot powered by artificial intelligence (AI) can perform so many tasks that it may as well be magical. Because of this, users who interact with AI chatbots often report feeling confused and even scared. However, AI chatbots are a tool that may be leveraged to improve your time spent online—however, a potent one.

Pounce, Georgia State’s chatbot, reduced summer melt by 22 percent and has continued to evolve since then. In 2021, Pounce was offered to a group of political science students chatbot for educational institutions to remind them of upcoming exams, assignment deadlines and more. Students who used the chatbot received better grades and were more likely to pass than those who did not.

We recommend using respond.io, an AI-powered customer conversation management software. You can start with a free trial and later upgrade to the plan that best suits your business needs. ChatBot has created a University Template for the education industry, perfect for engaging and supporting candidates on your website and social media and streamlining the admission process. Conversational AI is revolutionizing how businesses across many sectors communicate with customers, and the use of chatbots across many industries is becoming more prevalent. Check out these higher education IT leaders, authors, podcasters, creators and social media personalities who are helping drive online conversation. Before the student decides to apply for a course, parents and the student would like to know more about the campus facilities as well as the kind of exposure their child can get.

In the fall of 2018, CSUN opted to test CSUNny by allowing half of all first-time freshmen access to the chatbot and measuring their success against a control group that did not use CSUNny. “There is a whole host of research suggesting that that feeling of belonging is one of the biggest predictors of retention and graduation,” she says. But does this mean that only the admissions team and teachers can take advantage of a chatbot? Here are some of the other teams that can also take advantage of a chatbot for their processes. An AI-enabled education chatbot can deliver personalized communication and nudge the student to act faster.

Implementing an Automated Chatbot for Education

These educational chatbots are like magical helpers transforming the way schools interact with students. Now we can easily explore all kinds of activities related to our studies, thanks to these friendly AI companions by our side. None of the articles explicitly relied on usability heuristics and guidelines in designing the chatbots, though some authors stressed a few usability principles such as consistency and subjective satisfaction. Further, none of the articles discussed or assessed a distinct personality of the chatbots though research shows that chatbot personality affects users’ subjective satisfaction. A notable example of a study using questionnaires is ‘Rexy,’ a configurable educational chatbot discussed in (Benedetto & Cremonesi, 2019).

They act beyond classroom activities as campus guides, providing valuable information on facilities and helping students. Considering this, the University of Murcia in Spain used an AI chat assistant that successfully addressed more than 38,708 inquiries with an accuracy rate of 91%. AI systems may lack the emotional understanding and sensitivity required for dealing with complex sentimental concerns. In educational establishments where mental support is essential, the absence of sensitive intelligence in chatbots can limit their effectiveness in addressing users’ personal needs.

When interacting with students, chatbots have taken various roles such as teaching agents, peer agents, teachable agents, and motivational agents (Chhibber & Law, 2019; Baylor, 2011; Kerry et al., 2008). Teaching agents play the role of human teachers and can present instructions, illustrate examples, ask questions (Wambsganss et al., 2020), and provide immediate feedback (Kulik & Fletcher, 2016). On the other hand, peer agents serve as learning mates for students to encourage peer-to-peer interactions. Students typically initiate the conversation with peer agents to look up certain definitions or ask for an explanation of a specific topic.

Ada Support offers automated support to students, answers frequently asked questions, assists with enrollment, and provides real-time guidance on various academic matters. Chatbots can enhance library services by helping students find books, articles, and other research materials. They can assist with library catalog searches, recommend resources based on subject areas, provide citation assistance, and offer guidance on library policies. Having an integrated chatbot and CRM can streamline the application process for prospective students. The chatbot can assist students in filling out application forms, provide guidance on required documents, and offer reminders about deadlines. With automated prompts and notifications, a chatbot ensures that students complete the necessary steps in a timely manner, reducing administrative burdens for both the students and the admissions team.

More recently, more sophisticated and capable chatbots amazed the world with their abilities. Among them, ChatGPT and Google Bard are among the most profound AI-powered chatbots. ChatGPT’s rival Google Bard chatbot, developed by Google AI, was first announced in May 2023. Both Google Bard and ChatGPT are sizable language model chatbots that undergo training on extensive datasets of text and code. They possess the ability to generate text, create diverse creative content, and provide informative answers to questions, although their accuracy may not always be perfect.

Benefits of Machine Learning Chatbots in Education

Finally, universities from Africa and Australia contributed 4 articles (2 articles each). Okonkwo and Ade-Ibijola (2021) discussed challenges and limitations of chatbots including ethical, programming, and maintenance issues. Remember your old college professor who used to Chat PG get angry every time you asked silly questions? But what if I told you there is an online teacher that can answer all your questions without getting mad? Chatbots can inform students about on-campus resources such as library hours, student services, and campus events.

Capacity aims to empower employees with access to information through a user-friendly knowledge base, a suite of app integrations, and a conversational interface. LL provided a concise overview of the existing literature and formulated the methodology. All three authors collaborated on the selection of the final paper collection and contributed to crafting the conclusion. Pounce provides various essential functions, including sending reminders, furnishing relevant enrollment details, gathering survey data, and delivering round-the-clock support. The primary objective behind Pounce’s introduction was to streamline the admission process. The streamlined evaluation process offers precise evaluations of student performance.

For example, Winkler and Söllner (2018) focused on chatbots used for improving learning outcomes. On the other hand, Cunningham-Nelson et al. (2019) discussed how chatbots could be applied to enhance the student’s learning experience. The study by Pérez et al. (2020) reviewed the existing types of educational chatbots and the learning results expected from them. Smutny and Schreiberova (2020) examined chatbots as a learning aid for Facebook Messenger. Okonkwo and Ade-Ibijola (2021) analyzed the main benefits and challenges of implementing chatbots in an educational setting. This paper will help to better understand how educational chatbots can be effectively utilized to enhance education and address the specific needs and challenges of students and educators.

It can provide instant access to resources, assist with administrative tasks, and offer academic guidance. Moreover, a chatbot can help improve engagement and motivation among students, ultimately contributing to their success. With the rise of technology in education, educational institutions are constantly seeking innovative ways to improve the learning experience and support their students. One of the most promising technologies in this regard is the educational institution chatbot. Chatbots are AI-powered virtual assistants that can communicate with users through natural language, providing personalized responses to queries and performing tasks efficiently and effectively. A higher education chatbot is an AI-powered virtual assistant designed for educational institutions.

Besides, institutions can integrate bots into knowledge management systems, websites, or standalone applications. Chatbots help institutions save on costs and alleviate the burnout experienced by educators and staff overburdened with work. Educational institutions can use chatbots to provide a superior learning experience in a “hands-off” manner, especially with the increased workload and stress levels. Educators can streamline their workload by delegating data-driven repetitive tasks to AI-powered bots, such as tracking student attendance, scoring tests, and distributing assignments.

The future of AI and chatbots in education

So, partnering with MOCG for your future chatbot development is a one-stop solution to address all concerns from the above. Digital assistants offer continuous support and guidance to all trainees, regardless of time zones or schedules. This constant accessibility allows learners to seek support, access resources, and engage in activities at their convenience.

Exploring the long-term effects, optimal integration strategies, and addressing ethical considerations should take the forefront in research initiatives. In terms of application, chatbots are primarily used in education to teach various subjects, including but not limited to mathematics, computer science, foreign languages, and engineering. While many chatbots follow predetermined conversational paths, some employ personalized learning approaches tailored to individual student needs, incorporating experiential and collaborative learning principles. A chatbot for education is a specialized type of artificial intelligence (AI) software designed to simulate conversation with users, providing them with automated responses to their inquiries.

The chatbot can not only explain the steps involved, but also save the counselor’s time on following-up for necessary documents. There’s one thing that professors find more time consuming than prepping for the next class—grading tests. The purpose of these assessments is to understand how well the students have grasped a particular topic.

To attract the right talent and improve enrollments, colleges need to share their brand stories. Chatbots can disseminate this information when the student enquires about the college. Provide information about the available courses and answer any queries related to admissions.

• Let’s discover educational chatbots and look into the potential of chatbots for educational institutions.
• Podar Education Network has successfully implemented the AI chatbot Engati to enhance parent-teacher communication and streamline academic and administrative tasks.
• The study investigated the effect of the technologies used on performance and quality of chatbots.
• These indispensable assistants generate specific scorecards and provide insights into learning gaps.

They can adjust the difficulty level of questions, offer personalized feedback, recommend learning resources that suit the student’s level, and even adopt the student’s chosen learning method. Let’s explore the growing influence of AI and machine learning, particularly in education, with a focus on AI chatbots. With artificial intelligence, the complete process of enrollment and admissions can be smoother and more streamlined.

This can include information on policies and procedures, campus resources, and frequently asked questions. Before implementing a chatbot, it’s crucial to identify the specific use cases that the chatbot will address. This will help ensure that the chatbot meets the needs of students and faculty and provides valuable support services.

With its ability to handle repetitive, time-consuming tasks, a chatbot can save valuable time for faculty, allowing them to focus on more important matters. AI chatbots can be attentive to – and train on – students’ learning habits and areas of difficulty. It has been scientifically proven that not everyone understands and learns in the same way.

Chatbots contribute to the organization by responding to student inquiries related to recruitment processes. They provide a user-friendly interface for tasks such as completing digital forms or automatically filling in data collected during interactions. In addition, chatbots manage and update institutional data, contributing to the overall development and administration of the educational institution.

Considering Microsoft’s extensive integration efforts of ChatGPT into its products (Rudolph et al., 2023; Warren, 2023), it is likely that ChatGPT will become widespread soon. Educational institutions may need to rapidly adapt their policies and practices to guide and support students in using educational chatbots safely and constructively manner (Baidoo-Anu & Owusu Ansah, 2023). Educators and researchers must continue to explore the potential benefits and limitations of this technology to fully realize its potential. The first question identifies the fields of the proposed educational chatbots, while the second question presents the platforms the chatbots operate on, such as web or phone-based platforms. The third question discusses the roles chatbots play when interacting with students. The fourth question sheds light on the interaction styles used in the chatbots, such as flow-based or AI-powered.

• Since pupils seek dynamic learning opportunities, such tools facilitate student engagement by imitating social media and instant messaging channels.
• AI chatbots are leading the way to an educational utopia where every student receives personalized learning, teachers focus on teaching, and institutions operate efficiently.
• Drawing from extensive systematic literature reviews, as summarized in Table 1, AI chatbots possess the potential to profoundly influence diverse aspects of education.
• However, AI chatbots, with their ability to host quizzes and games, prompt discussions, and display a friendly and patient demeanor, allure students to stay connected and involved in their learning process.

Unlike some educational chatbots that follow predetermined paths or rely on predefined scripts, ChatGPT is capable of engaging in open-ended dialogue and adapting to various user inputs. One of the major benefits of an AI chatbot for educational institutions is that it can provide 24/7 support for both students and faculty. Chatbots can answer frequently asked questions, assist with administrative tasks, and offer guidance on academic matters, all while delivering a high level of convenience and efficiency. Educational institutions including schools, colleges, and universities are using these AI platforms to deliver personalized and interactive learning experiences. Similarly, educational chatbots can also be integrated with different platforms such as educational websites or learning management systems (LMS). With this integration, students can seek help in understanding difficult topics and conversationally accessing learning materials.

AI chatbots are leading the way to an educational utopia where every student receives personalized learning, teachers focus on teaching, and institutions operate efficiently. By harnessing the power of generative AI, chatbots can efficiently handle a multitude of conversations with students simultaneously. The technology’s ability to generate human-like responses in real-time allows these AI chatbots to engage with numerous students without compromising the quality of their interactions. This scalability ensures that every learner receives prompt and personalized support, no matter how many students are using the chatbot at the same time. Future studies should explore chatbot localization, where a chatbot is customized based on the culture and context it is used in.

Studies have shown that chatbots can help students with their academic goals, providing timely feedback and reducing the workload on teachers and administrative staff. By offering immediate assistance, chatbots can ensure that students do not fall behind in their courses due to unanswered questions or concerns. Haptik offers customized solutions for educational institutions to provide personalized assistance to students, handle admissions inquiries, guide them through the application process, and more.

This article sheds light on such tools, exploring their wide-ranging capabilities, limitations, and significant impact on the learning landscape. Read till the end and witness how companies, including Duolingo, leverage innovative technology to make learning accessible to everyone. In the context of chatbots for education, effectiveness is commonly measured by the reduction in response times, improvement in student satisfaction scores and the volume of successfully resolved queries. Chatbots can assist enrolled students with a variety of services, including academic support, campus information, and extracurricular activities, enhancing the overall educational experience. For education services looking to expand their reach and enrollments, chatbots are effective lead generators.

By analyzing conversation data, educational institutions can gain insights into user preferences, pain points, and popular inquiries, informing decision-making and strategy. Student feedback can be invaluable for improving course materials, facilities, and students’ learning experience as a whole. Educational institutions rely on having reputations of excellence, which incorporates a combination of both impressive results and good student satisfaction. Chatbots can collect student feedback and other helpful data, which can be analyzed and used to inform plans for improvement. Security is another crucial consideration when selecting a chatbot platform for educational institutions. Institutions must choose a chatbot solution that meets data protection regulations.

Several nations prohibited the usage of the application due to privacy apprehensions. Meanwhile, North Korea, China, and Russia, in particular, contended that the U.S. might employ ChatGPT for disseminating misinformation. Italy became the first Western country to ban ChatGPT (Browne, 2023) after the country’s data protection authority called on OpenAI to stop processing Italian residents’ data.

Educational institutions must ensure that sensitive student and faculty information is protected and that the chatbot platform complies with relevant privacy regulations. It is critical to secure data encryption, access controls, and secure data storage to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches. In addition to academic support, chatbots can also assist with non-academic needs such as mental health support, financial aid, and course scheduling. By providing access to resources and information, chatbots can ease the burden on both students and faculty, allowing them to focus on their learning and teaching goals.

University of Rochester

This availability enhances student experience and reduces the response time, giving the admissions team a competitive edge. We’ve shed light on how these advanced technologies are revolutionizing the education sector, and we’ve delved into the use cases of AI chatbots in educational institutions. Furthermore, tech solutions like conversational AI, are being deployed over every platform on the internet, be it social media or business websites and applications.

Most researchers (25 articles; 69.44%) developed chatbots that operate on the web (Fig. 5). For example, KEMTbot (Ondáš et al., 2019) is a chatbot system that provides information about the department, its staff, and their offices. Other chatbots acted as intelligent tutoring systems, such as Oscar (Latham et al., 2011), used for teaching computer science topics. Moreover, other web-based chatbots such as EnglishBot (Ruan et al., 2021) help students learn a foreign language.

However, the use of technology in education became a lifeline during the COVID-19 pandemic. By carefully considering these factors, educational institutions can implement an automated chatbot solution that provides a valuable resource for students and faculty alike. It is also essential to ensure ongoing maintenance and improvement to ensure optimal performance. By partnering https://chat.openai.com/ with expert chatbot solution providers, educational institutions can ensure that their chatbots are effective, efficient, and easy to use. With a chatbot, the admissions team can provide round-the-clock support to prospective students. It can handle inquiries and provide information even outside regular office hours, ensuring that students’ questions are addressed promptly.

Each iteration should aim to improve the user experience and streamline communication further. Use structured conversation flows with clear options and avoid jargon that might confuse the user. Developing a chatbot for educational services is as much about the frontend design as it is about the backend logic. It utilizes advanced AI algorithms that enable it to adapt to any customer conversation and provide personalized customer service. Students benefit from the convenience of interacting with chatbots, eliminating the need to endure long queues and wait times for administrative assistance.

ChatGPT, as one of the latest AI-powered chatbots, has gained significant attention for its potential applications in education. Within just eight months of its launch in 2022, it has already amassed over 100 million users, setting new records for user and traffic growth. ChatGPT stands out among AI-powered chatbots used in education due to its advanced natural language processing capabilities and sophisticated language generation, enabling more natural and human-like conversations. It excels at capturing and retaining contextual information throughout interactions, leading to more coherent and contextually relevant conversations.

This study, however, uses different classifications (e.g., “teaching agent”, “peer agent”, “motivational agent”) supported by the literature in Chhibber and Law (2019), Baylor (2011), and Kerlyl et al. (2006). Other studies such as (Okonkwo and Ade-Ibijola, 2021; Pérez et al., 2020) partially covered this dimension by mentioning that chatbots can be teaching or service-oriented. Hobert and Meyer von Wolff (2019), Pérez et al. (2020), and Hwang and Chang (2021) examined the evaluation methods used to assess the effectiveness of educational chatbots.

In the context of the education sector, these chatbots are tailored to meet the specific needs of students, educators, and administrative staff. Overburdened institutional staff can deploy chatbots to help deliver a superior learning experience to their students in a “hands-off” way. Any repetitive tasks that are data-driven can be delegated to a bot powered by AI technology.

Moreover, researchers should explore devising frameworks for designing and developing educational chatbots to guide educators to build usable and effective chatbots. Finally, researchers should explore EUD tools that allow non-programmer educators to design and develop educational chatbots to facilitate the development of educational chatbots. Adopting EUD tools to build chatbots would accelerate the adoption of the technology in various fields.

In comparison, 88% of the students in (Daud et al., 2020) found the tool highly useful. One of them presented in (D’mello & Graesser, 2013) asks the students a question, then waits for the student to write an answer. Then the motivational agent reacts to the answer with varying emotions, including empathy and approval, to motivate students. Similarly, the chatbot in (Schouten et al., 2017) shows various reactionary emotions and motivates students with encouraging phrases such as “you have already achieved a lot today”. 63.88% (23) of the selected articles are conference papers, while 36.11% (13) were published in journals. Interestingly, 38.46% (5) of the journal articles were published recently in 2020.

By digitizing enrollment processes and simplifying communication channels, bots reduce the workload for staff. The e-learning showed the need for exceptional support, especially in the wake of COVID-19. Supplying robust aid through digital tools enhances the institution’s reputation, especially in the rapidly growing e-learning market. The success of chatbot implementation depends on how easily educatee perceive and adapt to their use. If they find tools complex or difficult to navigate, it may hinder their acceptance and application in educational settings.

This gives transparent and structured assessment outcomes to educatee, faculty, and stakeholders. Ivy Tech Community College in Indiana developed a machine learning algorithm to identify at-risk students. Their experiment aided 3,000 participants, and 98% of those who received support achieved a grade of C or higher. Overloaded due to tight scheduling and plenty of daily duties, educators often face challenges. Invaluable teaching assistants can give a hand with automation tasks like tests, assessments, and assignment tracking. EdWeek reports that, according to Impact Research, nearly 50% of teachers utilized ChatGPT for lesson planning and generated creative ideas for their classes.

Chatbots, also known as conversational agents, enable the interaction of humans with computers through natural language, by applying the technology of natural language processing (NLP) (Bradeško & Mladenić, 2012). In fact, the size of the chatbot market worldwide is expected to be 1.23 billion dollars in 2025 (Kaczorowska-Spychalska, 2019). In the US alone, the chatbot industry was valued at 113 million US dollars and is expected to reach 994.5 million US dollars in 2024 Footnote 1. ChatInsight.AI is a knowledge-based AI chatbot designed to provide detailed and insightful responses across a wide range of topics. Leveraging advanced artificial intelligence algorithms, ChatInsight.AI can understand and interpret complex queries, offering in-depth analysis, explanations, and information. ChatInsight.AI aims to facilitate learning and knowledge acquisition by providing clear, accurate, and contextually relevant answers.

In the digital transformation era, educational institutions are exploring new ways to enhance student and faculty services. One such innovation is using higher education chatbots designed to provide automated support and assistance to users. The latest chatbot models have showcased remarkable capabilities in natural language processing and generation. Additional research is required to investigate the role and potential of these newer chatbots in the field of education.

Their interactive and conversational nature enhances student engagement and motivation, making learning more enjoyable and personalized. Overall, students appreciate the capabilities of AI chatbots and find them helpful for their studies and skill development, recognizing that they complement human intelligence rather than replace it. As technology continues to advance, AI-powered educational chatbots are expected to become more sophisticated, providing accurate information and offering even more individualized and engaging learning experiences. They are anticipated to engage with humans using voice recognition, comprehend human emotions, and navigate social interactions. This includes activities such as establishing educational objectives, developing teaching methods and curricula, and conducting assessments (Latif et al., 2023).

AI chatbots in education can help engage with prospective students by focusing on intent and engagement. This is true right from the point of admission and is accomplished by personalizing their learning and gathering important feedback and other data to improve services further. You can foun additiona information about ai customer service and artificial intelligence and NLP. In this section, we will explore how AI chatbots are being used in various spectrums of educational institutions, specifically looking into personalized virtual tutoring, teacher assistance, and admission processes.

Administrators can take up other complex, time-consuming tasks that need human attention. For example, Georgia Tech has created an adaptive learning platform for its computer science master’s program. Similarly, Stanford has its own AI Laboratory, where researchers work on cutting-edge AI projects.