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Scaling student support with conversational artificial intelligence

Catherine Mata,
Emily Russell,
Lindsay C. Page

AI-enabled chatbots are increasingly used to support student success, yet evidence on their long-term sustainability and impacts remains limited. We examine the implementation of an AI-enabled text-messaging chatbot at a large, urban public university. Drawing on system observation, discussions with administrators, and a four-year randomized controlled trial, we assess institutional conditions for sustained implementation, student receptivity over time, and effects on academic outcomes. We find that centralized ownership and flexible communication are critical for sustainability. Students remain receptive over time, and impacts are concentrated in improved completion of time-sensitive administrative tasks, with no detectable effects on academic performance or persistence.

Keywords
college success, student support, higher education, academic chatbot, artificial intelligence
Education level
Post-secondary education
Topics
Student Well-Being
Tags
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) in education,
Higher education,
Student supports
Download 02/2026
Document Object Identifier (DOI)
10.26300/b0dp-sn77
EdWorkingPaper suggested citation:
Mata, Catherine, Emily Russell, and Lindsay C. Page. (). Scaling student support with conversational artificial intelligence. (EdWorkingPaper: -1409). Retrieved from Annenberg Institute at Brown University: https://doi.org/10.26300/b0dp-sn77

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