ABSTRACT
This qualitative-phenomenological study was conducted to explore learners’ and teachers’ experiences in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) as bases program recommendation in one of the Science High Schools in the Fourth Congressional District in the province of Iloilo. Learners revealed that AI helps them generate and organize ideas and makes essay writing clearer and understandable; helps learners improve grammar, makes writing less stressful, and improves critical thinking skills; helps manage time; overdependence on AI, weakening of critical thinking skills, ethical concerns and academic integrity and risk of misuse and inaccurate information. Teachers viewed AI improves essay writing performance, helps learners analyze and think critically, helps improve language accuracy, stimulates mental processes, develops interactive learning, overdependence on AI, loss of authenticity in writing and decline in critical thinking and idea generation. A program was formulated as a basis of this study, offering practical strategies for teachers and learners to maximize the benefits of AI while maintaining academic integrity in essay writing.
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Experiences, Essay Writing, Program Recommendation
INTRODUCTION
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has quickly changed many facets of education, especially writing and communication. The advent of AI-powered writing helpers like ChatGPT, Grammarly, QuillBot, Gemini, and others in recent years has given students quick and easy feedback on grammar, structure, and content creation. Essay writing is now quicker and more effective, thanks to these technologies which provide assistance that was previously only available from human teachers or peer reviewers.
Empirical studies show that AI is having a bigger and bigger effect on writing instruction. For example, a study by Ramli, et al. (2024) found that 78 % of students said their writing got better when they used AI-assisted tools, especially when it came to grammar and organization. Research also shows that students who use AI-based feedback systems make much bigger improvements in their revision skills and overall writing performance than students who only use traditional methods.
AI-powered tools such as grammar checkers, language models, and essay generators are increasingly used by learners to support their writing tasks. These technologies provide immediate feedback, assist in organizing ideas, improve language accuracy, and reduce the cognitive burden of essay writing. For English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, AI offers valuable scaffolding that enhances clarity, confidence, and overall writing performance.
Despite these advantages, educators, students, and legislators are still debating on the use of Al in academic writing. AI tools can improve learning by helping non-native English speakers, encouraging creativity, and improving writing mechanics (Ramli, et al., 2024), improper use of AI can result in over-reliance, a decline in critical thinking, and possible problems with academic dishonesty (Haber, et al., 2025; Cuyugan, 2025). Concerns regarding authenticity and originality in written work are raised by the fact that many students frequently rely too much on AI-generated outputs without properly evaluating or comprehending them.
The researcher also observed that students frequently use AI in their essay writing tasks. This reality underscores the need for clear guidelines that will allow teachers to check and assess learners’ outputs when AI is permitted. By establishing structured policies, schools can ensure that AI integration enhances learning without compromising authenticity.
This study was conducted to explore the experiences of learners and teachers in using AI for essay writing, as bases for program recommendation. By examining both the advantages and limitations of AI-assisted writing, this research aimed at providing evidence-based recommendations for schools to optimize AI’s benefits while minimizing its risks.
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