Human touch vs. AI tech: Understanding user preferences in the future of education

AI educational tool companies are fiercely competing to capture a larger share of the highly competitive AI-in-education market. A key strategy for success is to enhance user favorability and adoption. However, whether users prefer a human or an AI in the role of educator remains an important yet underexplored question. This research conducted three behavioral studies to examine user behavior toward AI-powered educational tools versus human educators, focusing on users' intentions to use these tools and their word-of-mouth (WOM) recommendations. Our findings show that users are more inclined to prefer human educators for their children and are more likely to share this preference with others (Studies 1 and 2). The underlying reason is that users perceive human educators as more capable than AI tools (Study 2). Study 3 further reveals that the type of problem-solving moderates the effect of the educational approach on both intentions to use and WOM. Specifically, users believe that AI tools are better suited for conventional problem-solving, while human educators are preferred for creative problem-solving. Our research is the first to investigate users' adoption of AI educational tools compared to human educators and the underlying mechanism. AI educational tool providers are advised to address users' negative perceptions and alleviate their concerns by demonstrating the competence of AI tools or by actively engaging with users to foster their competence in AI's capabilities. These novel insights contribute to the rapidly growing field of AI research and offer valuable implications for AI educational tools seeking success in the marketplace.