Does ALEKS use AI?
Yes, by McGraw Hill’s own description. The About ALEKS page calls ALEKS “an artificially intelligent learning and assessment system” and says “ALEKS artificial intelligence is developed using billions of data points from student interactions.” McGraw Hill’s ALEKS AI page puts it more simply: “ALEKS uses powerful AI to create personalized learning experiences for each student.” Its company-wide AI page says the same thing in other words: “ALEKS uses AI to create individual and dynamic paths to success where students learn and then master topics.”
The AI McGraw Hill describes has two jobs: working out what you already know, and choosing what you learn next. A separate feature, AI Reader, adds generative AI to the ALEKS eBook.
How does ALEKS decide what you know?
It asks, then infers. About ALEKS says the system “has been trained to efficiently identify the exact topics each individual student has mastered” based on “their answers to a small number of questions chosen by ALEKS based on their responses.” For independent ALEKS students, the student tour says the first assessment is “personalized” and “adaptive” and “includes approximately 25 to 30 questions,” so each question depends on how you answered the last ones.
The research behind it is Knowledge Space Theory, and About ALEKS notes that “hundreds of academic papers on Knowledge Space Theory have been published in peer-reviewed journals.” In plain terms, ALEKS treats a course as a set of topics, some of which build on others, and uses your answers to place you within it.
McGraw Hill makes a strong claim for the result: “When ALEKS offers the student a topic as ready to learn, ALEKS is almost always correct.” That claim is McGraw Hill’s; we have not tested it.
Where the AI shows up in ALEKS
| Part of ALEKS | What McGraw Hill says | AI involved? |
|---|---|---|
| Initial Knowledge Check | “From day one, ALEKS pinpoints what each student knows and what they need to learn.” | Yes. Adaptive questions. |
| Learning Path and Learning Mode | “Every student gets a dynamic path that adapts in real time to their needs.” Learning Mode “provides practice problems and offers explanations of concepts and procedures.” | Yes. It chooses your next topics. |
| The ALEKS Pie | The pie “describes your current knowledge of the subject and makes precise recommendations for further study.” | It reports what ALEKS estimates you know. |
| Knowledge Checks | They “automatically confirm and enhance retention, creating a continuous cycle of learning and assessment.” | Yes. They re-test what you learned. |
| Explanations | “Built-in explanations help students fully understand each concept.” | Not described as AI. |
| AI Reader | “brings GenAI into the ALEKS eBook”; students can “highlight text, get explanations, simplify complex content, and quiz themselves.” | Yes. Generative AI. |
| Sharpen | A study app that gives “better exam prep powered by responsible AI” and “can be added to your course in Fall 2026.” | Yes. |
Learning Mode has its own scoring rules. McGraw Hill’s FAQ says “No points are given or subtracted when students select Explanation” and “Once students earn five points in a topic, the Progress Indicator will be filled in.”
Is ALEKS generative AI, like ChatGPT?
Mostly no. On its ALEKS AI page, McGraw Hill labels one feature as generative: AI Reader, which “brings GenAI into the ALEKS eBook.” McGraw Hill says it is “grounded in trusted McGraw Hill instructional content” and works on the material you are already studying. The adaptive engine that chooses your questions and fills your pie is described as AI, and McGraw Hill does not call it generative.
The ALEKS pages we checked don’t name an outside AI model such as ChatGPT. McGraw Hill’s company-wide AI page says “We build with human oversight” and “We protect your data,” but it does not say whether student data is used to train its models.
What does ALEKS record about your work?
The other half of the question is what ALEKS keeps track of. McGraw Hill’s support pages describe these records:
- Time and topics. ALEKS’s Time & Topic reports let schools “monitor the amount of time a student is spending within the ALEKS Knowledge Checks and Learning Mode,” along with “the number of topics a student has attempted over a particular period of time” and “how many of those topics the student has learned.” The daily view shows the date and time and the duration spent in the program.
- Retention. Knowledge Checks re-test topics you learned. In a class, you can’t start one yourself: McGraw Hill’s FAQ says “Students are unable to request a Knowledge Check.”
- Proctoring, when your course uses it. ALEKS course products work with Respondus LockDown Browser, which blocks other applications, copying, printing and other websites, and with Respondus Monitor, which “uses webcam and video to record students during unproctored, online exams.” McGraw Hill lists LockDown Browser as free for students and Monitor as covered by an institutional agreement or a $10 fee per student per course.
McGraw Hill’s FAQ also says most students should plan on “at least 40 hours in ALEKS to complete a course.” Your instructor decides what counts toward your grade, and your school’s academic-integrity policy decides what outside help is allowed.
Can you use other AI tools on ALEKS?
Your instructor and school decide what help is allowed, and McGraw Hill sets rules of its own. ALEKS’s pages link to McGraw Hill’s Terms of Use. As of their October 16, 2026 update, those Terms bar any “agent, robot, spider, or other automatic device or program” from accessing the service, and bar third-party software, including an “AI agent” or a “browser extension,” from acting for you, including to “view, complete, answer, or submit any assessment, assignment, or other activity.”
Silent Student, which we make, is a desktop app for Mac and Windows, and on ALEKS it works only partly. It opens ALEKS from your Canvas course and enters Learning Mode answers in the ALEKS answer editor, using our general screen-reading agent rather than a solver written for ALEKS, so it is less predictable there than on our dedicated platforms. It does not take the Initial Knowledge Check, Knowledge Checks, ALEKS PPL placement or proctored work. Our benchmark has no ALEKS replica, so we publish no ALEKS accuracy figure. In our reading, McGraw Hill’s Terms reach it. Plans are $11.99, $24.99 and $49.99 a month, with no free plan. More on our ALEKS AI solver page and in Best AI for ALEKS, compared.
Sources
Every quotation on this page was checked against its source on October 20, 2026.
- ALEKS, About ALEKS
- McGraw Hill, ALEKS: AI for Personalized Learning
- ALEKS, Students - Take a Tour
- McGraw Hill, ALEKS Frequently Asked Questions
- McGraw Hill, New ALEKS Administrator Time & Topic Reports
- McGraw Hill, ALEKS Math & Chemistry Remote Proctoring
- McGraw Hill, Our AI Approach
- McGraw Hill Terms of Use (last updated October 16, 2026)
ALEKS Learning Mode from Canvas, with the limits stated
Silent Student works ALEKS Learning Mode topics opened from Canvas and leaves every Knowledge Check to you. Read McGraw Hill’s Terms first.
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Frequently asked questions
Is ALEKS AI?
Yes. McGraw Hill calls ALEKS “an artificially intelligent learning and assessment system” and says it uses AI to create a personalized learning path for each student.
Is ALEKS generative AI?
Only in one feature. McGraw Hill says AI Reader “brings GenAI into the ALEKS eBook.” The adaptive engine that picks your questions and fills your pie is described as AI, not as generative AI.
How does ALEKS know what I know?
From your answers. ALEKS chooses a small number of questions based on your earlier responses and infers which topics you have mastered. The student tour says the first assessment has approximately 25 to 30 questions.
Does ALEKS track how long I spend?
Yes. ALEKS’s Time & Topic reports show time spent in Knowledge Checks and Learning Mode, topics attempted and topics learned, with a daily view of the date, time and duration.
Does ALEKS use my webcam?
Only if your course uses Respondus Monitor, which McGraw Hill says “uses webcam and video to record students during unproctored, online exams.” Whether a Knowledge Check, quiz or test uses it is set for your course.
Does Silent Student take ALEKS Knowledge Checks?
No. Silent Student does not take the Initial Knowledge Check, Knowledge Checks, ALEKS PPL placement or proctored work. On ALEKS it works Learning Mode topics only.