Sal Khan admits the AI tutoring wave he championed three years ago has yet to materialize. After OpenAI handed Khan Academy early access to GPT‑4 in summer 2022, the nonprofit built Khanmigo, a chatbot designed to guide students without handing over answers. Khan told Chalkbeat the tool has been “a non‑event” for most learners, likening it to sitting in the back of a class and waiting for help.

Teachers at Hobart High School tried the bot in 2023, but geometry instructor Kristen Musall found students frustrated when Khanmigo refused to give direct answers and occasionally erred. She observed only advanced pupils leveraged the AI for deeper study, while many used it to shortcut homework, sparking cheating concerns reflected in a recent Pew survey. Chief Learning Officer Kristen DiCerbo noted students “aren’t great at asking questions,” dampening hopes for personalized instruction.

In response, Khan Academy revamped its platform this spring, embedding Khanmigo directly into problem‑solving workflows after data showed students rarely sought the bot on their own. Early trials indicate modest speed‑ups in practice gains for average classes, though lower‑performing learners see little benefit. Khan concludes AI will aid education, but only when paired with strong human support systems.