How to leverage AI in online learning
Students who use AI as a study aid must employ it responsibly and carefully. Learn more about how to ensure that AI augments your online learning.
By: Jacob Given, Edited by: Rebecca Munday, Reviewed by: Jeff Le
Published: August 1, 2025
Wondering how to use AI to enhance your online learning? Artificial intelligence is more accessible than ever and can provide learning benefits to online students, but it also comes with significant risks.
Students who decide to use AI to help them study should carefully consider how to integrate it into their learning process. Learn how to leverage AI and enhance your online education.
Benefits of working with AI to enhance your learning
As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in our work and culture, learners need to understand how to use it as a tool to enhance, rather than replace, thinking. Students who use AI as an aid may gain tangible benefits in their studies and in their careers.
Students don't need an abundance of technical AI skills to use it for their benefit, but they do need to think carefully about how the technology fits into their overall learning program. "People are using AI," says learning strategist Dr. Cabell Luther. "We want them to know how to use it, but how to use it in a way that can help them instead of completely replacing their ability to think independently or critically."
While the use of artificial intelligence has its dangers, there are many potential benefits of incorporating it into your learning and working process:
- Brainstorming assistance
- Translation assistance
- Assistance with inference based on large data sets
How to build critical thinking skills as you use AI
According to a 2025 MIT study, reliance on AI is associated with a decreased ability to think critically. Students must work intentionally to ensure that AI enhances rather than replaces critical thought.
Dr. Luther suggests the following framework for critical AI engagement:
- Question: Skeptically probe AI outputs for accuracy and bias.
- Analyze: Deconstruct AI responses and understand prompt influence.
- Evaluate: Assess AI content credibility and validity via cross-referencing.
- Reflect: Examine personal thinking, biases, and ethics regarding AI use.
- Formulate: Synthesize evaluated information to form independent judgements.
Rather than replacing critical thought, Dr. Luther suggests that AI functions best as a "thought partner" in learning. By intentionally cultivating the ability to question, analyze, evaluate, and reflect on AI outputs, students can formulate independent thoughts while leveraging AI.
How should you use AI in online learning
Students who want to use AI in their online learning process should consider their instructor's policies and the tools available to them. Dr. Luther notes that different faculty members maintain different policies on AI. "Some faculty members are really open to it and say, use AI to brainstorm, but don't use it to write."
If an instructor allows the use of AI in their class, learners should take care to employ the tools in the context of their own critical and independent thought. Some instructors who allow AI use set specific guidelines for how, when, and where to use the technology, so be sure to check with your professor.
Students should never use AI to generate the written text of an assignment unless an instructor specifically requires it.
How can I use AI in online learning?
- You can use some AI tools to convert content from one medium to another. If you learn best through auditory means, for example, Dr. Luther suggests turning your readings into a podcast.
- You can use the AI assistants employed by some edX courses to discuss class material for deeper understanding. If you are a verbal processor, an AI chatbot can supplement study groups and office hours.
- You can also leverage AI to aid in recall. If you want to use a chatbot to quiz you on the course material, ensure that you provide detailed instructions, including specific study materials. Do not take a chatbot's word for it: Make sure to cross-reference your course materials manually to verify your answers.
Whenever using AI, remember to include as much detail as possible in your prompts. Detailed prompts, like detailed search queries, produce better results because they provide specific directions for what you want the chatbot to do. Finding the right way to prompt the chatbot with enough specificity takes time and practice. Experiment with the tool and refine your prompts to get the best output from a chatbot.
How should I avoid using AI in online learning?
- You should avoid having AI think for you. Chatbots can act as sounding boards, but you must evaluate all output. Manually cross-reference all AI-generated responses with reputable sources, and do not accept AI outputs uncritically.
- You should not use AI without understanding its limitations. AI can produce biased and inaccurate responses couched in confident, objective language. Remain skeptical in your engagement with AI tools. When appropriate, ask the model to evaluate its own responses for bias, and always verify outputs with manual research.
- You should never turn in written work generated by an AI model. Using AI to generate written assignments violates basic academic integrity, since it constitutes plagiarism. Some institutions may use AI-powered tools to determine whether AI was used, but scrutiny for those tools is growing.
Remember, while prudent use of AI can assist you in your academic journey, using it inappropriately sabotages your learning and robs you of the opportunity for intellectual development.
How to evaluate whether you're using AI well in online learning
If you use AI to assist your online learning, you should continuously evaluate your process to ensure effectiveness. Try asking yourself the following questions to gauge your AI-assisted learning process:
- Are you approaching AI responses skeptically?
- Are you regularly cross-referencing AI outputs with trusted sources to verify claims?
- Do you feel comfortable making independent judgments about the course material?
If you answer "no" to any of these questions, that's a signal to adjust your use of AI. If you feel particularly lost in your course of study while leveraging AI, you may reconsider your use of the technology altogether.
Instructors, too, must evaluate the place of AI in their courses. Because of the wide availability of AI-based text generation software, it has become easier than ever for students to bypass traditional methods of assessment, like term papers. According to Dr. Luther, instructors who allow the use of AI in their online classrooms should use a variety of assessments, like oral exams, debates, and moderated discussions.
By continuously evaluating and adjusting their use of AI in online learning, students and instructors can ensure that the technology enhances intellectual development instead of stifling it.