Generative Artificial Intelligence and Chatbots: Profiles and Uses in Chilean Distance Education

The emergence of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) opens new opportunities in higher education by enabling the personalization of students' learning experiences. Within this context, this study examines how students in distance higher education use a chatbot and explores its metacognitive implications, particularly temporal spacing as a learning strategy. The research was conducted at Iplacex, Chile's largest distance-learning institution, analyzing 10,490 chatbot conversations from 4,276 students during the first academic term of 2025. Two complementary studies were conducted. Study 1 analyzed the temporal structure of interactions, revealing that most conversations were brief and concentrated within short study sessions, with limited evidence of spaced use; women engaged more frequently in extended interactions. Study 2 applied Latent Class Analysis and multinomial regression, identifying three user profiles: administrative-oriented, content-focused, and low-interaction users. Overall, the findings indicate that the chatbot primarily supports immediate, task-oriented needs while also serving differentiated functions related to cognitive regulation, highlighting the need for pedagogical guidance to promote reflective use.