Personality, culture, and AI writing tool acceptance: a cross-cultural meta-analysis of big five traits and technology acceptance among university students

Introduction The integration of artificial intelligence writing tools into higher education raises questions about whether personality traits and cultural context jointly shape students’ technology acceptance. Methods This cross-cultural meta-analysis synthesized 44 primary studies (187 effect sizes from 44 independent, non-overlapping samples totalling 14,594 students; per-dimension analytic samples ranged from N = 10,789 to N = 13,847) drawn from five cultural regions, examining associations between Big Five personality dimensions and TAM/UTAUT acceptance constructs in AI-assisted academic writing.Random-effects modeling and mixed-effects meta-regression with Hofstede dimension scores as continuous moderators were applied. Results Openness ( r̄ = 0.31), conscientiousness ( r̄ = 0.24), and extraversion ( r̄ = 0.18) positively predicted acceptance; agreeableness showed a modest positive effect ( r̄ = 0.14); neuroticism exhibited a consistent negative association ( r̄ = -0.22). Individualism significantly amplified the effects of openness and neuroticism, while uncertainty avoidance attenuated the conscientiousness pathway. Discussion Personality–acceptance relationships are, at least in part, culturally contingent, and single-culture estimates may obscure meaningful heterogeneity. Practical implications for culturally differentiated AI integration strategies in higher education are discussed.