A Review on Acceptance of Chatbots for Learning: Malaysian Context

This review explores the acceptance of chatbots- an increasingly prominent application of artificial intelligence (AI) in teaching and learning processes at higher education levels in Malaysia. Chatbots, powered by AI, have become integral tools and are widely used across various fields, including healthcare, finance, retail, and customer service, but are least known in the education sector. Their adoption in education remains limited, primarily confined to basic administrative tasks only. Despite their potential to revolutionize education, chatbots' implementation is still largely experimental and not explicitly addressed in pedagogy and learning, for it is still in its infancy. This study synthesizes findings from selected articles to explore students' acceptance levels of chatbots, both theoretical and practical, across different educational fields. The analysis identifies key themes influencing chatbot adoption, including perceived usefulness/performance expectancy, perceived ease of use/effort expectancy, adoption intention/behavioural intention, scaffolding/learning support, social influence, habit formation/engagement, trust and ethics, and design and interactivity. Findings reveal that perceived usefulness and ease of use are significant predictors of students' acceptance, while factors such as social influence, trust, and ethics play supporting roles. By offering personalized responses, enhancing students’ engagement, and cultivating academic success, chatbots are acknowledged for their capacity to improve students’ learning experiences. However, trust, ethics, and design-related issues remain underexplored. Clear guidelines and policies on appropriate chatbot usage must be established by educational institutions to ensure academic integrity while leveraging this technology to support effective learning. This review concludes that a complex interaction of technical, social, and ethical factors influenced the chatbot's acceptance in Malaysia. Academicians and higher education institutions can maximize chatbots’ capacity and potential to revolutionize learning within the Malaysian higher education sector by taking these factors into account.