Even amid a sea of edtech companies that raced to create their own AI chatbots, the online learning nonprofit Khan Academy has drawn attention for its GPT-powered tutor, Khanmigo, which can be used for everything from AP test prep to conversations with simulated historical figures. Khanmigo is designed to guide students to an answer as they try to debug code or solve a math problem, rather than enable cheating. (Like other AI chatbots, however, Khanmigo still has some trouble with basic math, as the Wall Street Journal recently reported.)
After a pilot program last spring with 90 teachers and 800 students, about 70% of teachers reported the tool was helpful as an assistant, while 77% of students rated it a four out of five or higher. Since then, Khan Academy has expanded the pilot to 65,000 students and teachers across more than 40 school districts—with an emphasis on districts that have underserved students—and is even conducting small pilot programs abroad in Brazil and Peru.
In November, Khan Academy also introduced a new essay feedback feature for grades 8–12. When students submit a draft essay, Khanmigo will provide personalized feedback and guide them through revisions (though the tool won’t do the writing for them). Khan Academy is currently working on anti-cheating measures for the essay feedback tool, along with a feature that would enable teachers to use Khanmigo beyond the company’s platform.
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