Chatbot Integration in U.S. Higher Education Websites: Historical Trends From 2017 to 2023

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 3:35 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Advancing Technology in Higher Education (Table 10)

Abstract

This study employed a seven-year, longitudinal content analysis of institutional websites to explore when institutions adopted chatbots and which types of institutions were most likely to adopt this technology. Results suggest that institutions of higher education have steadily integrated chatbots within their websites since 2017, with nearly 30% of institutions using chat-bots in 2023. However, every year since 2017, private for-profit institutions have been most likely to integrate chatbots, suggesting disparities in resources between for-profit institutions and peers.

Authors

• Sam Owusu, University of Southern Mississippi

• Zach Taylor, University of Southern Mississippi