Student and Educator Perspectives on Embodied AI Agents in Education

As AI is beginning to take embodied form in classrooms (e.g., through avatars or immersive companions), it may funda mentally reshape how students learn. However, little is known about how such AI embodied agents might be used, what roles they could take, and what risks they carry. We addressed this gap through a three-phase study: (a) scoping review of Extended Reality educational applications with embodied AI agents; (b) participatory workshops with 23 students and educators; and (c) a workshop with 9 HCI and education experts. Participants envisioned agents as tutors, accessibility companions, and teacher-training partners, with educators being more enthusiastic about adoption while students stressing the irreplaceable value of human teachers; yet both groups agreed that embodied AI should augment rather than replace teaching. These findings suggest that embodiment should be understood not as a technical property solely but as a relational quality that shapes trust, authority, and inclusion in education.