Students Around the World Find ChatGPT Useful, but also Express Concerns

An international survey study involving more than 23,000 higher education students reveals trends in how they use and experience ChatGPT, highlighting both positive perceptions and awareness of the AI chatbot’s limitations. Dejan Ravšelj of the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia, and colleagues present these findings in the open-access journal PLOS One.

Prior research suggests that ChatGPT can enhance learning, despite concerns about its role in academic integrity, potential impacts on critical thinking, and occasionally inaccurate responses. However, the few studies exploring student perceptions of ChatGPT in higher education have been limited in scope. Ravšelj and colleagues designed an anonymous online survey study aiming to provide a broader view.

From October 2023 to February 2024 - a period soon after the public release of ChatGPT in late 2022 - 23,218 students representing 109 countries and territories took the survey, which asked about perceptions of various aspects of ChatGPT, such as how they use it, ethical concerns, and views on its potential labor market impacts.

Analysis of the survey results revealed several trends. For instance, overall, participants tended to feel positively about ChatGPT, finding it valuable for brainstorming, summarizing texts, academic writing, and simplifying complex information. However, they reported concerns about ChatGPT's reliability, its potential to erode critical thinking skills, and ethical issues around its use, such as cheating and privacy. While participants reported a preference for human interaction, they anticipated rising demand for AI-related skills.

Interestingly, less than a third of students (29%) reported using ChatGPT for brainstorming, and only one in ten (11%) for creative writing. However, most students (70%) found ChatGPT interesting to use, and a quarter (25%) found it easier to interact with ChatGPT than with colleagues.

The students’ perceptions varied across sociodemographic and geographic factors. For instance, those in lower-income regions were more likely to perceive ChatGPT as essential support in the context of limited educational resources, while students in high-income regions placed greater value on ChatGPT’s innovative and advanced features.

In all, the researchers note, these findings could help inform the design of higher education curricula and policies to harness the benefits of ChatGPT equitably across diverse student populations. Future research could address some of this study’s limitations, such as by tracking students’ perceptions over time and including more students from low-income countries.

The authors add: "A new milestone in generative artificial intelligence research in higher education: Early global perceptions of ChatGPT, drawn from over 23,000 students across 109 countries and territories, highlight its role as an engaging learning tool while raising ethical concerns that require further attention. The study examines student perspectives on its usage, capabilities, regulation, satisfaction, attitudes, study outcomes, skills development, labor market implications, and emotional responses."

Ravšelj D, Keržič D, Tomaževič N, Umek L, Brezovar N, A Iahad N, Abdulla AA, Akopyan A, Aldana Segura MW, AlHumaid J, Allam MF, Alló M, Andoh RPK, Andronic O, Arthur YD, Aydın F, Badran A, Balbontín-Alvarado R, Ben Saad H, Bencsik A, Benning I, Besimi A, Bezerra DDS, Buizza C, Burro R, Bwalya A, Cachero C, Castillo-Briceno P, Castro H, Chai CS, Charalambous C, Chiu TKF, Clipa O, Colombari R, Corral Escobedo LJH, Costa E, Crețulescu RG, Crispino M, Cucari N, Dalton F, Demir Kaya M, Dumić-Čule I, Dwidienawati D, Ebardo R, Egbenya DL, Faris ME, Fečko M, Ferrinho P, Florea A, Fong CY, Francis Z, Ghilardi A, González-Fernández B, Hau D, Hossain MS, Hug T, Inasius F, Ismail MJ, Jahić H, Jessa MO, Kapanadze M, Kar SK, Kateeb ET, Kaya F, Khadri HO, Kikuchi M, Kobets VM, Kostova KM, Krasmane E, Lau J, Law WHC, Lazăr F, Lazović-Pita L, Lee VWY, Li J, López-Aguilar DV, Luca A, Luciano RG, Machin-Mastromatteo JD, Madi M, Manguele AL, Manrique RF, Mapulanga T, Marimon F, Marinova GI, Mas-Machuca M, Mejía-Rodríguez O, Meletiou-Mavrotheris M, Méndez-Prado SM, Meza-Cano JM, Mirķe E, Mishra A, Mital O, Mollica C, Morariu DI, Mospan N, Mukuka A, Navarro Jiménez SG, Nikaj I, Nisheva MM, Nisiforou E, Njiku J, Nomnian S, Nuredini-Mehmedi L, Nyamekye E, Obadić A, Okela AH, Olenik-Shemesh D, Ostoj I, Peralta-Rizzo KJ, Peštek A, Pilav-Velić A, Pires DRM, Rabin E, Raccanello D, Ramie A, Rashid MMU, Reuter RAP, Reyes V, Rodrigues AS, Rodway P, Ručinská S, Sadzaglishvili S, Salem AAMS, Savić G, Schepman A, Shahpo SM, Snouber A, Soler E, Sonyel B, Stefanova E, Stone A, Strzelecki A, Tanaka T, Tapia Cortes C, Teira-Fachado A, Tilga H, Titko J, Tolmach M, Turmudi D, Varela-Candamio L, Vekiri I, Vicentini G, Woyo E, Yorulmaz Ö, Yunus SAS, Zamfir AM, Zhou M, Aristovnik A.
Higher education students' perceptions of ChatGPT: A global study of early reactions.
PLoS One. 2025 Feb 5;20(2):e0315011. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0315011

Most Popular Now

Open Medical Works with Moray's Dig…

Open Medical is working with the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre’s Rural Centre of Excellence on a referral management plan, as part of a research and development scheme to...

Generative AI on Track to Shape the Futu…

Using advanced artificial intelligence (AI), researchers have developed a novel method to make drug development faster and more efficient. In a new paper, Xia Ning, lead author of the study and...

Reorganisation, Consolidation, and Cuts:…

NHS England has been downsized and abolished. Integrated care boards have been told to change function, consolidate, and deliver savings. Trusts are planning big cuts. The Highland Marketing advisory board...

Personalized Breast Cancer Prevention No…

A new telemedicine service for personalised breast cancer prevention has launched at preventcancer.co.uk. It allows women aged 30 to 75 across the UK to understand their risk of developing breast...

New App may Help Caregivers of People Ge…

A new study by investigators from Mass General Brigham showed that a new app they created can help improve the quality of life for caregivers of patients undergoing bone marrow...

An App to Detect Heart Attacks and Strok…

A potentially lifesaving new smartphone app can help people determine if they are suffering heart attacks or strokes and should seek medical attention, a clinical study suggests. The ECHAS app (Emergency...

A Machine Learning Tool for Diagnosing, …

Scientists aiming to advance cancer diagnostics have developed a machine learning tool that is able to identify metabolism-related molecular profile differences between patients with colorectal cancer and healthy people. The analysis...

Fine-Tuned LLMs Boost Error Detection in…

A type of artificial intelligence (AI) called fine-tuned large language models (LLMs) greatly enhances error detection in radiology reports, according to a new study published in Radiology, a journal of...

DeepSeek-R1 Offers Promising Potential t…

A joint research team from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou) has published a perspective article in MedComm...

Deep Learning can Predict Lung Cancer Ri…

A deep learning model was able to predict future lung cancer risk from a single low-dose chest CT scan, according to new research published at the ATS 2025 International Conference...