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ChatGPT has shown how much could be done with the power of AI. After its launch in 2022, users have used this tool for almost any job you could think of. But when it came down to online education, ChatGPT became a point of contention.
While some think ChatGPT is a valuable tool for learning and teaching, others see it as a “plagiarism machine” that provides false information and ruins academic integrity.
Let’s analyse ChatGPT’s actual impact on the education sector and see whether it benefits students and teachers or creates more issues in the classroom.
See also: ChatGPT AI development cost
How ChatGPT impacts education
It’s no secret that ChatGPT is used in schools and universities worldwide. While students use it most, some teachers also extract value from it by generating lesson plans, automating grading, and content creation.
In 2023, EDUCASES’s survey highlighted that the overall reception of AI use in school is mixed. Respondents were asked to describe how generative AI currently impacts the learning process.
Other studies support these promising numbers.
For example, according to a survey conducted by the Walton Family Foundation, 51% of teachers are already using ChatGPT for lesson planning (30%), generating ideas for classroom activities (30%), and expanding background knowledge for future lessons (27%). On the students’ side, 79% think ChatGPT positively affected their education.
Recently, OpenAI announced a new version of ChatGPT tailored for education — ChatGPT Edu. As Sam Altman said in his interview: “Education is of special importance to us. And we’re delighted to see what’s happening and what people are building for the future.”
This version of ChatGPT aims to help with tasks such as providing personalised tutoring, helping researchers write grant applications, and assisting faculty with grading and feedback.
OpenAI has partnered with Columbia University and other education facilities to seek innovative ways to make AI accessible to students, researchers, and campus operations.
Benefits of using ChatGPT
While the overall use of AI technologies is a hot topic to debate, we can’t ignore the benefits it brings to both students and teachers. Here are a couple of examples.
For teachers
Lesson planning and content creation
Creating lesson plans from scratch can be time-consuming. ChatGPT helps teachers by generating structured outlines, lesson objectives, and even activity suggestions. It can also help create quizzes, discussion prompts, and reading comprehension exercises tailored to different grade levels and learning styles.
Time-saving automation
Teachers spend a significant amount of time on administrative tasks such as grading, responding to student emails, and summarising feedback. ChatGPT can assist by grading short-answer responses, providing automated feedback on writing, and drafting common classroom communications, allowing educators to focus more on teaching.
Personalised instruction
Every student learns differently, and ChatGPT can help teachers adapt their instruction. It also suggests alternative ways to explain complex topics, offers simplified explanations for struggling students and even provides enrichment activities for advanced learners. This flexibility allows teachers to effectively reach a wider range of students.
Professional development and research support
ChatGPT can assist educators in staying up to date with the latest teaching strategies, educational trends, and research. It can summarise academic papers, generate discussion points for professional development sessions, and provide insights into emerging pedagogical methods, helping teachers refine their instructional approaches.
For students
Instant assistance
Sometimes, students need help outside of school hours. ChatGPT can act as a 24/7 tutor, answering questions, explaining difficult concepts, and guiding students through problem-solving steps. This can be especially useful for subjects like math, science, and writing, where students often get stuck on specific problems.
Writing and editing support
Writing essays, reports, and research papers can be challenging. ChatGPT helps students by offering suggestions to improve grammar, sentence structure, and clarity. It can also help with brainstorming ideas, organising thoughts, and paraphrasing content while maintaining originality.
Practice and study help
Whether preparing for exams or reviewing difficult topics, students can use ChatGPT to generate study guides, summarise key concepts, and create practice questions. It can also simulate conversations for language learners, helping them improve vocabulary and comprehension in an interactive way.
Enhancing creativity and critical thinking
ChatGPT can be used as a brainstorming tool to help students develop creative ideas for projects, essays, and presentations. By generating different perspectives, suggesting alternative arguments, or providing discussion prompts, it encourages students to think critically and engage more deeply with their subjects.
See also: AI in EdTech: Pros, cons and use cases
Drawbacks and implications
Despite the clear benefits, many teachers are still reluctant to use ChatGPT in schools and universities. For example, Seattle public schools banned ChatGPT from all school devices because they believe it is used as a cheating tool that creates unoriginal content.
At the same time, most of the issues ChatGPT has applies to any other AI model. Incorrect information and insufficient accuracy are the main challenges AI faces across all industries.
Here’s what Altamira’s Chief Delivery Officer, Natalia Semak, mentioned recently.
95% accuracy is terrible for an AI in education. It might sound impressive for a chatbot, but it's not good enough for students. AI accuracy is a critical responsibility in EdTech.
The main reasons why schools and universities ban ChatGPT are.
Academic integrity and plagiarism
One of the biggest concerns is the ease with which students can use AI to generate essays and assignments without putting in their own effort. This can lead to academic dishonesty and hinder the efficiency of learning.
This is the main reason why many schools are implementing stricter plagiarism detection tools and AI-content identification methods.
Some institutions are also shifting their assessment strategies to sharpen critical thinking and in-class writing to reduce over-reliance on AI.
Accuracy and misinformation
ChatGPT is not perfect—it can sometimes generate incorrect or misleading information. Since the model does not fact-check sources, students relying solely on AI-generated responses risk absorbing inaccurate details. Teachers need to guide students in verifying, cross-referencing, and assessing AI-generated content.
Dependence on AI
Over-reliance on ChatGPT could weaken students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills. If students turn to AI for every answer instead of engaging with the material, they may struggle with deeper learning and independent thought. This is why explaining to students that ChatGPT is an assistant and might not provide the correct answer is important.
School bans and policy debates
Some schools and universities have restricted ChatGPT due to concerns about academic dishonesty and its impact on traditional learning methods. Policies vary, with some institutions banning AI tools outright while others are adopting structured guidelines for responsible AI use. Instead of outright bans, many educators advocate for AI literacy programs that teach students how to use ChatGPT ethically and effectively.
Using ChatGPT in education: preparing for the AI-driven future
Alongside teaching students digital literacy and data ethics, it’s slowly becoming a new norm to introduce generative AI as another study topic. Teachers can guide students to explore key questions about generative AI: What is it, how does it work, and how can it be used?
The debate about how to use generative AI models, such as ChatGPT, in college is still ongoing. There is a divide in opinions between higher education and schools.
While schools aim to ban ChatGPT and other generative AI models, universities and colleges think that there are appropriate and ethical ways to use this technology.
The Director of Communication, Innovation and Advancement in Baldwin-Whitehall School District has stated: “It is important for students to clearly understand how to find the expectations of their instructors in higher ed in the syllabus and ask questions if they are not clear on the explanation.”
Rather than avoiding AI tools, educators and students can focus on learning how to use them responsibly. Schools can develop guidelines for ethical AI use, teaching students when and how to incorporate ChatGPT into their learning without replacing critical thinking and originality.
AI literacy should become a part of the curriculum, helping students understand both the strengths and limitations of AI tools.
See also: How generative AI is transforming EdTech
Final words
Whether ChatGPT will benefit or obstruct the learning process entirely depends on how it’s used. Despite bringing tangible value to both teachers and students as a support tool, it also opens up a discussion about plagiarism, cheating and the general ethics of using AI.
Nevertheless, a deciding factor in this debate depends only on methods of integration, but it’s clear that AI will become a significant part of future education.
Whether you are interested in building AI-based software from scratch or integrating AI technologies into your existing products, Altamira’s approach is guaranteed to provide you with streamlined and stress-free services. Contact us to learn more.
FAQ
Teachers and students can use ChatGPT to brainstorm ideas, summarise complex topics, generate practice questions, and improve writing. Some schools integrate it into lesson planning, while students use it for tutoring, language learning, and coding assistance.
There isn’t a dedicated “education version” of ChatGPT, but some AI tools built for classrooms use ChatGPT’s technology. OpenAI also offers customisable models through API access, which institutions can integrate into their learning platforms.
Teachers use ChatGPT to generate lesson plans, create quizzes, and provide instant feedback on student writing. Some also use it to explore different teaching methods, simplify complex concepts, or assist students with personalised learning.
Some schools restrict ChatGPT due to concerns about plagiarism, misinformation, and overreliance on AI for assignments. They also worry about data privacy and the risk of students using AI-generated content without understanding the material.
ChatGPT can help with structuring essays, generating ideas, and improving clarity, but it’s not a substitute for original research and critical thinking. Many institutions consider AI-generated content plagiarism.