Testing the Effects of AI Access on Parent Knowledge of Child Development

Last registered on May 06, 2026
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Testing the Effects of AI Access on Parent Knowledge of Child Development
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0018452
Initial registration date
May 01, 2026

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
May 06, 2026, 11:02 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Rebecca Royer
Affiliation
University of Chicago
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Julie Pernaudet
PI Affiliation
University of Chicago
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PI Name
Dana Suskind
PI Affiliation
University of Chicago
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PI Name
John List
PI Affiliation
University of Chicago
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PI Name
Dani Levine
PI Affiliation
University of Chicago
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2026-05-01
End date
2026-05-22
Keywords
Behavior, Education
Additional Keywords
artificial intelligence, early childhood, belief updating
JEL code(s)
J13, C91, D83
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Caregiver knowledge of child development shapes early learning environments that drive long-term developmental outcomes. Artificial intelligence chatbots represent a potentially scalable tool for improving parent knowledge, though their effects remain untested. This pre-analysis plan describes a randomized experiment examining whether access to an AI chatbot improves parents' knowledge of early child development. We will recruit approximately 400 U.S. parents of children aged 0–6 from the online platform Prolific and randomly assign them to a treatment condition, in which they have access to an AI chatbot (Claude) while completing the Survey of Parent/Provider Expectations And Knowledge (SPEAK), or a control condition, in which they complete the SPEAK without access to the chatbot. Our primary outcome is SPEAK score. Secondary analyses will examine AI tool usage and query content as potential mediators, and will test for heterogeneity of treatment effects by parent socioeconomic status, race, gender, and AI perceptions.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Levine, Dani et al. 2026. "Testing the Effects of AI Access on Parent Knowledge of Child Development." AEA RCT Registry. May 06. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.18452-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
We will make public the intervention when the trial is complete.
Intervention Start Date
2026-05-01
Intervention End Date
2026-05-22

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
SPEAK score
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Heterogeneity by parent education, race, gender, age and AI perceptions. Mediation by quantity and quality of interactions with AI chatbot in the treatment group. See attached analysis plan for more details.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We will make public the experimental design when the trial is complete.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
We rely on the randomization feature in Qualtrics to assign participants to treatment and control groups, ensuring an approximately even split.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
N/A
Sample size: planned number of observations
400 participants total.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Approximately 200 participants in treatment and 200 participants in control.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Given 400 participants with half in treatment and half in control, our minimum detectable effect is 0.28 standard deviations with 80% power and alpha = 0.05.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
The University of Chicago Biological Sciences Division/University of Chicago Medical Center
IRB Approval Date
2026-04-28
IRB Approval Number
IRB26-0705
Analysis Plan

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