Title: Educational chatbots for personalised learning: a systematic review

Authors: Clara Lau; Ean Teng Khor

Addresses: Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Ave, 639798, Singapore ' Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Ave, 639798, Singapore

Abstract: With the rapid increase in technology in recent years, there has been a shift towards improving education using artificial intelligence, such as chatbots. Studies have shown chatbots' potential in tutoring, teaching and completing administrative tasks. However, when it comes to reviewing the application and effectiveness of chatbots under the personalised learning approach, studies have yet to conduct a review on personalised learning chatbots on students. A systematic review was hence conducted to evaluate their effects on students and their potential application in education. Fifteen articles are included in the final review after thorough filtering from three well-known databases. Results have shown that personalised learning chatbots are commonly applied as assistants or teachers to class content, as well as virtual alternatives to lessons. While they showed potential in enhancing students' learning via tailored content, feedback, and engagement, most studies still encountered functional and feasibility challenges during their implementation. With multiple studies showing how personalised teaching has significantly improved students' grades and understandings of class content, insights obtained from this study could encourage further studies on the possible improvement and enhancement that could be made or even recommend educators to implement such technology in their curriculum for the betterment of future education.

Keywords: artificial intelligence; educational chatbot; personalised learning; systematic review; application of chatbot; effects of chatbot.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTEL.2025.145337

International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning, 2025 Vol.17 No.2, pp.223 - 240

Received: 17 Aug 2023
Accepted: 14 Nov 2023
Published online: 31 Mar 2025 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article