AI is changing how students study, work, and communicate. For peer tutors on college campuses, that change brings both opportunity and responsibility.
Used thoughtfully, AI can help tutors prepare more efficiently, organize information, and find new ways to explain difficult concepts. But it cannot replace what makes peer tutoring powerful: the human connection that builds confidence, trust, and belonging.
Learning Is Human
Learning doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens through conversation, connection, and community.
When a student meets with a peer tutor, they’re not just seeking information. They’re seeking encouragement. They want to be seen by someone who understands what it feels like to struggle and who believes they can succeed.
That’s what makes peer tutoring different. It’s built on empathy, vulnerability, and shared experience. AI can process information, but it can’t recognize effort, celebrate progress, or say, “You’re doing better than you think.”
How AI Can Help Peer Tutors Prepare
When used with care, AI can strengthen preparation, not replace it. Here are a few practical ways:
- Use AI to summarize material or check your understanding before a session.
- Ask AI to help you design exercises that match your student’s learning style or level.
- Use AI to organize notes, identify patterns in what students struggle with, and plan what to revisit next time.
- Ask AI to suggest analogies, visuals, or discussion questions that make difficult ideas more relatable.
AI can save time and spark creativity, but it should always serve the goal of helping another person learn.
Keeping the Core Human
Peer tutoring works because it is personal. It’s one student saying to another, “I’ve been where you are—and I know you can get through this.”
The challenge isn’t to compete with AI, but to use it in ways that amplify human impact. Let AI handle the information so you can focus on connection.
Because learning will always be human at its core. AI can help tutors prepare for that work, but it will never replace the belonging, encouragement, and recognition that make peer learning transformative.
At Knack, we believe the future of learning is both innovative and deeply human. Knack empowers campuses to combine smart technology with the power of peer connection, ensuring every student has access to the support they need, from someone who understands what it’s like to be in their shoes. Learn how Knack helps institutions scale equitable, people-first tutoring at joinknack.com.
