First-year engineering students struggling to understand concepts like computer programming and hardware can now ask an artificial intelligence tutor for help after a UT engineering professor and two students developed an AI tutoring tool for a freshman course.

Nina Telang, professor of instruction at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has taught Introduction to Computing for 20 semesters, where she builds the foundation for engineering students’ understanding of the track and sets students up for future courses. The AI tool mimics a tutoring session with a real person, and it offers follow-up questions to deepen the student’s understanding, Telang said.

“When I heard about this, I said, ‘Yeah, this is perfect for my first year ECE required class,’ because, despite all of the resources, there isn’t a personalized tutor for them,” Telang said. “This serves that purpose.” 

Telang tested the tool for the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 semesters. She said she switched the original AI tool to use the Sage AI starting this semester. Sage AI is provided by the University for professors to create AI tutors related to their courses, according to the platform’s website. 

The AI tool only uses information from the course textbook and materials, said BP Rimal, an artificial intelligence graduate student who helped build the original AI tutor. 

Juan Abusleme, an electrical and computer engineering junior who is currently a teaching assistant for the course, said the tool was helpful to fill gaps in knowledge, especially when he didn’t have access to the instructor or TAs when he took the course.

“I couldn’t ask the TA at the time or the professor, because either it was a weekend or it was 2 a.m., so I used the tutor for that,” Abusleme said.

Gauri Gupta, an electrical and computer engineering sophomore, said she used this tool, along with the other resources in the course. Gupta said a chatbot like this tool can be helpful for other classes with more abstract and difficult concepts.

“Having the chatbot is like the sprinkle on top of the cake,” said Gupta, who is also a TA for the class. 

As with any new technology, there are always fears about using it in a good or bad way, Telang said. 

“The AI tutor, if used well, is sort of a game-changer,” Telang said.