IU study of 77,000 students finds AI learning companion use tracks real schedules

Researchers at IU International University of Applied Sciences analyzed anonymized usage data from about 77,000 online students of the Learning Companion Syntea, phys.org reported, calling it the largest empirical look yet at real use of a dedicated AI learning assistant in higher education. The arXiv paper, led by Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kristina Schaaff, Dr. Valerie Hekkel, and Quintus Stierstorfer, uses observed behavior rather than surveys. Syntea is available to more than 80,000 IU online students and about 5,000 IU Academy learners, according to the write-up. About 58% of students in the study used Syntea during the observation period. Most interactions occur on weekday daytime hours, while part-time students more often use it evenings and weekends. Usage by age group was about 64% for Generation Z students born 1997-2012, about 50% for Generation X students born 1965-1980, and 38% for Baby Boomers born 1946-1964. Women used it slightly more than men, 59% versus 55%. Use was especially intensive in Psychology and Education and Marketing and Communication. Schaaff said prior work relied mainly on relatively small-scale surveys, and that real usage data can contradict assumptions such as low uptake among older students. Stierstorfer said findings feed Syntea's development, including planned multimodal features and more personalized career-oriented dialogues. The preprint carries DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2607.08748.