AI chatbots, the interactive software, utilizing natural language processing and artificial intelligence (AI), are increasingly used in various domains, including education, where they offer personalized and adaptive learning support. This study explores college students’ utilization of AI chatbots in their self-directed learning experiences, where learners initiate, plan, and regulate their learning activities themselves. Employing a cross-sectional descriptive approach, a quantitative survey was used to scrutinize the AI chatbot usage practices and the factors that influences their adoption among randomly selected 200 college students from diverse backgrounds. Findings reveal a spectrum of purposes for using the interacting agents, including information seeking, problem solving, completing assignments, feedback, and motivation. Furthermore, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) scrutinised usability, ethical considerations, and technological barriers as the factors affecting AI chatbot adoption among students in higher education. To assess the strength of relationships between these factors and participants’ adoption behaviour, regression analysis was conducted, which depicted a significant contribution to the study’s model. Contributing to the literature on AI chatbots and self-directed learning, this research offers implications for educators, developers, and policymakers in designing and implementing AI chatbots effectively and ethically for education. Considering recent tech advancements and educational needs, institutions should consider integrating AI chatbots into their learning systems to enhance overall educational experiences and outcomes. With the limitation of considering less factors, this study can be a starting point of research on leveraging AI-based technologies towards achieving self-guided learning goals.
Mukherjee et al. (Thu,) studied this question.