IJIET 2026 Vol.16(2): 318-329
doi: 10.18178/ijiet.2026.16.2.2505
doi: 10.18178/ijiet.2026.16.2.2505
Are They AI-Competent? Future Teachers’ Readiness to Use Conversational Agents as Learning Assistants
Sofia Konstantinidou, Ioannis Lefkos*, and Nikolaos Fachantidis
Laboratory of Informatics and Robotics in Education and Society, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece
Email: ite23026@uom.edu.gr (S.K.); lefkos@uom.edu.gr (I.L.); nfachantidis@uom.edu.gr (N.F.)
*Corresponding author
Email: ite23026@uom.edu.gr (S.K.); lefkos@uom.edu.gr (I.L.); nfachantidis@uom.edu.gr (N.F.)
*Corresponding author
Manuscript received June 3, 2025; revised July 23, 2025; accepted September 28, 2025; published February 5, 2026
Abstract—This study examines the perceptions of student teachers regarding artificial intelligence technologies particularly their knowledge, their willingness to use them, any concerns and perceived benefits and challenges in relation to the Digital Competence Framework for Citizens (DigComp) 2.2 digital competence framework. Our mixed-methods research, involving 372 undergraduate student teachers, revealed correlations among these aspects, indicating that frequent AI users have a stronger intention to use AI, while infrequent users express greater concerns about it. Student teachers acknowledge AI’s time-saving benefits as well as the convenience and academic enhancement it provides, but also voice concerns about its misuse and reliability and the potential impact on skill development and learning. These concerns are in agreement with digital competence areas of information literacy and safe technology use. Reflecting on these perceptions, it is essential to maximise the educational benefits of effective and responsible AI integration into higher education and foster the digital competencies of future teachers.
Keywords—Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education, chatbots, Digital Competence Framework for Citizens (DigComp), pre-service teachers, teacher education
Copyright © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).
Keywords—Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education, chatbots, Digital Competence Framework for Citizens (DigComp), pre-service teachers, teacher education
Cite: Sofia Konstantinidou, Ioannis Lefkos, and Nikolaos Fachantidis, "Are They AI-Competent? Future Teachers’ Readiness to Use Conversational Agents as Learning Assistants," International Journal of Information and Education Technology, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 318-329, 2026.
Copyright © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (CC BY 4.0).