Perception in the Loop: Understanding AI Chatbot Efficiency Through the Lens of Role, Support, and Technology Use in Higher Education

The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots in higher education promises improved student support and administrative efficiency. Our objective is to offer insights to institutions in effectively adopting AI chatbots, tailored to the needs of both students and faculty. Using secondary survey data from United States higher education, we conducted a moderated mediation analysis to examine the mediation effect of perceived resources/support on the relationship between user role and perceived efficiency of AI chatbots, moderated by technological tool usage. The results revealed that perceived resources/support availability plays a mediating role in shaping how both students and faculty perceive the efficiency of AI chatbots, with students reporting greater efficiency when resources and support are more readily available. This mediation effect becomes marginally stronger as the usage of technological tools increases. While both student and faculty groups demonstrate openness to using AI chatbots, their perceptions of benefits and challenges towards AI chatbots differ significantly.