What GenAI can, and can’t, do for chemistry learning

Generative artificial intelligence tools are now central to chemistry education. This presents opportunity and risk: on the one hand, generating worked examples or explanations; on the other, not being able to offer precise reasoning. A recent study set out to evaluate the reliability and reasoning capabilities of ChatGPT, particularly in how AI systems respond to chemistry questions requiring multi-step reasoning and conceptual understanding, and whether its tendency to generate authoritative-sounding responses masks deeper weaknesses that could mislead students.