AI as my teacher: adoption of AI-driven virtual teaching assistants among students using the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2

Purpose The study explores the acceptance of AI-driven virtual teaching assistants (VTAs) in Vietnam’s online learning. It aims to identify factors influencing students’ intention and actual use of these emerging technologies. Design/methodology/approach Using an extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2), the research adds two constructs – privacy concerns and learning value (LV) – and includes robotics adoption as a moderating factor. A survey of 500 university students in Ho Chi Minh City, who use or plan to use VTAs, was analyzed through structural equation modeling to test the model’s predictive power. Findings The results show that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, habit, LV and privacy concerns significantly shape behavioral intention to adopt VTAs, which in turn predicts actual usage. Students are more likely to embrace VTAs when they perceive them as useful, easy, enjoyable and beneficial, provided privacy risks are mitigated. Robotics adoption further strengthens the link between intention and use. Practical implications The study suggests that educational institutions should highlight VTAs’ learning benefits, ensure usability, address privacy issues and invest in supportive infrastructure to boost adoption. Originality/value This research is among the first to study AI-based VTAs in Vietnamese higher education using an extended UTAUT2 model. By replacing “price value” with “learning value” and stressing privacy, it enriches understanding of artificial intelligence adoption in education and offers insights applicable beyond Vietnam.