Access is Not Enough: Human Support Improves Engagement with AI Tutoring

AI tutoring platforms offer a promising path to scaling personalized instruction, but only if students use them. We report findings from two randomized controlled trials in which elementary students were assigned to use an AI literacy platform independently or with an in-person tutor focused on engagement, not direct instruction. Despite dedicated session time, nearly half of students in the control group never used the platform, and those who did averaged only 2-5 minutes per week. Working with human tutors increased average weekly platform usage by 1 to 4 minutes and engagement by 71-80%. However, usage remained low, and the intervention did not improve reading achievement. Findings suggest that access alone is insufficient; implementation and human support matter for promoting meaningful engagement with AI-based learning tools.