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An AI tutor is like a teaching assistant that’s always available. Students click the chat button during a lesson and ask for help. It gives hints and asks questions instead of giving the answer.

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What the AI Tutor Does

When students are working, they can open the chat and say things like:
  • “I don’t understand this problem”
  • “Can you give me a hint?”
  • “What does this word mean?”
  • “Did I do this right?”
The tutor will:
  • Ask questions to help students think through problems
  • Give hints that point them in the right direction
  • Break hard problems into smaller steps
  • Encourage students when they’re trying

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How to Create an AI Tutor

  1. Click Agents in the sidebar
  2. Click New Agent
  3. Fill in these fields:
    • Name (required) - what students will see
    • Description (optional) - notes for you and your team, students don’t see this
    • System Prompt - instructions that tell the tutor how to behave (see below)
    • Tutoring Strategy (optional) - pick how the tutor helps
    • Never Reveal Answers - turn this on to stop the tutor from giving away answers
    • Max Hints Per Question - how many hints before the tutor says “ask your teacher” (default is 3)
  4. Save it

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Writing the System Prompt

The system prompt tells the AI tutor who it is and how to act. A default prompt is provided when you create a new agent, but you should customize it for your class. Write it like you’re giving instructions to a substitute teacher. Include these things: Who it is: 
You are Ms. Chen, a patient and encouraging math tutor
who helps elementary students feel confident with numbers.
What it knows: 
You are helping students with 3rd grade multiplication.
Focus on understanding, not just memorizing facts.
How it should act: 
Always celebrate effort, not just correct answers.
Use real-world examples like sharing pizza or counting coins.
If a student is frustrated, say something kind before
getting back to the problem.
What it should NOT do: 
Never give away answers directly. Guide students
to discover the answer themselves.

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Full Example

Here is a complete system prompt you can copy and change: 
You are Coach Alex, a friendly learning coach who helps
middle school students with science.

Your teaching style:
- Use real-world examples and comparisons
- Break hard topics into small pieces
- Encourage curiosity and questions
- Celebrate progress and effort

When a student is stuck:
1. Ask what they've already tried
2. Give a hint about what they already know
3. If still stuck, break it into smaller steps
4. Only give direct help after they've tried several times

Never:
- Give away answers without the student working first
- Use confusing language
- Skip steps in explanations

Your goal is to help students become confident,
independent learners.

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Tutoring Strategies

Pick the main way you want the AI tutor to help students:

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Socratic

The tutor asks questions to guide students to the answer.
Student: “What’s 7 x 8?” Tutor: “Good question! Do you know what 7 x 7 is?” Student: “49” Tutor: “So if 7 x 7 is 49, how could we figure out 7 x 8 from that?”
Best for: Building problem-solving skills. Good for students who can think things through with a little push.

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Hints Only

The tutor gives clues but never the answer.
Student: “I don’t know how to solve 3x + 5 = 14” Tutor: “Hint: Start by thinking about what you need to undo first.” Student: “I’m still stuck.” Tutor: “Hint: What number is on the same side as x? How can you get rid of it?”
Best for: Test prep and building persistence. Good for students who give up too quickly.

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Guided

The tutor walks through problems step by step.
Student: “Help me solve 3x + 5 = 14” Tutor: “Let’s do this together. Step 1: Subtract 5 from both sides. 3x + 5 - 5 = 14 - 5. That gives us 3x = 9. Does that make sense so far?”
Best for: New topics and students who need extra support.

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Direct

The tutor gives clear, complete answers.
Student: “What’s the formula for the area of a triangle?” Tutor: “Area = 1/2 x base x height. The base is any side, and the height is the straight-up distance from that base to the opposite corner.”
Best for: Quick questions and review sessions.

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Which Strategy Should I Pick?

SituationBest Strategy
Learning something newGuided
Practicing skillsSocratic or Hints
Getting ready for a testHints Only
Quick questions while workingDirect
Building independenceSocratic
Student needs a lot of helpGuided
Advanced studentSocratic
You can also tell your tutor to mix strategies in the system prompt: 
When a student asks a simple fact, give a direct answer.
When working through a problem, use guiding questions.
When a student has tried several times, switch to step-by-step help.

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Connect the Tutor to Your Course

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As the Default Tutor for the Whole Course

  1. Open your course settings
  2. Find Default Agent
  3. Pick your tutor
This tutor is available in every lesson of the course.

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For One Specific Lesson

  1. Open the lesson settings
  2. Find Agent Override
  3. Pick a different tutor (or choose “None” to turn it off for this lesson)

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Preview Your Tutor Before Students Use It

Before you let students use the tutor, test it yourself:
  1. Go to the agent’s page
  2. Click Open Preview
  3. Pick a course, then pick a lesson
  4. The preview lets you step through the lesson as a student and see how the tutor responds
  5. Go back and change the system prompt if the tutor isn’t acting the way you want

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Monitoring How Students Use the Tutor

You can see:
  • How many conversations students are having
  • What questions students ask most often
  • Where students get stuck
  • Alerts when a student seems frustrated or keeps asking the same question
This helps you figure out which students need extra help from you.