The impact of intelligent tutoring systems in general education: A systematic review of causal evidence on learning outcomes, motivation, and socio-emotional effects

Intelligent tutoring systems (ITSs) can contribute meaningfully to pupils’ learning in general education, but their benefits are neither automatic nor uniform. The evidence reviewed is most extensive and consistently positive for learning outcomes and skill development. Findings on motivation and engagement are generally favorable but more heterogeneous, while evidence on well-being and socio-emotional outcomes is smaller and indicative rather than conclusive. Across these domains, educational value depends on how systems translate learner information into appropriate instructional support and how their use is embedded in teaching and learning.

This report synthesises evidence on ITSs and related AI-based adaptive learning tools in primary, lower-secondary and upper-secondary education. It examines their effects on learning outcomes, motivation and engagement, and socio emotional development, alongside the pedagogical mechanisms and implementation conditions associated with these effects. ITSs are understood as systems that combine learner information, subject-domain structures and pedagogical decision-making to adapt instruction.