QuillBot in Academic Writing: Students’ Perceptions, Usage Patterns, and Academic Impact

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of AI-powered writing tools in the higher education landscape has been propounded to put students on a successful academic trajectory by revolutionising their approaches to academic writing tasks. Among these tools, QuillBot has surged in popularity given its ability to facilitate users in paraphrasing, improving language quality, and enhancing writing efficiency. Despite its growing reliance, concerns regarding academic integrity, learner dependency, and the impact of AI-assisted writing tools on students' writing development remain under scrutiny. This study aims to address these gaps by exploring (1) students' perceptions and attitudes towards QuillBot, (2) its perceived benefits and challenges, (3) factors influencing its usage, and (4) the relationship between QuillBot usage frequency and academic performance. A quantitative survey design was employed involving 266 undergraduate students enrolled in the English for Professional Communication course at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Shah Alam. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire adapted from previous research and analysed using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis. The results showed that students’ perceptions towards Quillbot ranged from neutral to slightly positive, alongside their recognition of its usefulness as a writing support tool. Among the primary advantages were vocabulary enhancement, improved paraphrasing skills, higher adaptability in applying cohesive devices, and reduced anxiety in accomplishing writing tasks. Students also expressed their concerns regarding overdependency and cognitive engagement inhibitions in accomplishing paraphrasing activities. Accessibility, affordability, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use were identified as imperative contributing factors of students' adoption of QuillBot. Additionally, a moderate positive correlation was found between QuillBot usage frequency and academic performance (r = .35, p < .01). These findings provide valuable insights into AI-assisted writing technologies by providing empirical evidence in the context of Malaysian higher education. It underscores the importance of fostering responsibility and ethical practices in the use of AI-powered writing tools while supporting students’ development in academic writing.