Chatbot Memory: Uncovering How Mental Effort and Chabot Interactions Affect Short-Term Learning

Developments in artificial intelligence (AI) are transforming everyday tasks, including accessing information, learning, and decision making. Generative AI is representative of these changes as it can generate content traditionally reserved for humans with increased efficiency and reduced effort. This includes technologies like ChatGPT and other tools that exploit large language models, typically taking the form of conversational agents (chatbots). These technologies can be useful for self-regulated learning as is the case for Web browsing. It is, however, unclear whether learning with chatbots may be efficient as opposed to other Web-based approaches given the reduced effort related to chatbot interactions. This study assessed how interacting with a chatbot may affect short-term learning and the role of mental effort. Memory performance was equivalent across participants who either interacted with a chatbot or browsed the Internet to find information for answering essay questions. Differences in self-reported workload were, however, found across conditions.