AI Tools for IB Students: What Actually Helps

AI is everywhere in the IB now. Some students just straight up paste assignments into ChatGPT. Others ignore AI completely and stick to handwritten notes and panic-revision.

Both extremes are wrong.

Is It OK to Use AI as an IB Student?

Short answer: yes – if you use it as a study tool, not as a ghostwriter.

Most schools and the IB care about two things:

• Original thinking – the ideas and structure must be yours

• Transparency – you can’t pretend AI-generated work is your own

Clearly NOT ok:

• generating full IA drafts or EE sections and handing them in

• paraphrasing AI-written answers just to dodge plagiarism detection

• using AI during tests / exams unless explicitly allowed

Generally acceptable (if school approves):

• using AI to explain concepts you don’t understand

• getting practice questions and step-by-step reasoning

• asking for feedback on a draft you actually wrote

• using AI to plan your revision and identify weak topics

The rule of thumb:

If you’d be embarrassed to tell your teacher exactly how you used AI, it’s probably over the line.

Where Generic AI Tools Go Wrong for IB Students

Most students start with generic tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Copilot. They’re powerful, but they come with serious IB-specific problems.

1. Wrong syllabus and outdated content

Generic AI models:

• don’t “know” which IB syllabus version you’re on

• often mix up A-Level / AP / random internet content with IB

• might use old exam formats or ignore HL/SL differences

Result: you feel productive, but you’re learning slightly wrong things – which is the fastest way to lose marks.

2. No markscheme logic

IB markschemes have a very particular style:

• method marks vs answer marks

• key phrases and definitions that unlock the mark

• specific command terms (“evaluate”, “distinguish”, “compare and contrast”)

Generic AI doesn’t think in “marks”. It just produces nice-sounding paragraphs, which:

• might be too long

• might miss the exact phrase the markscheme wants

• don’t train you to hit the marking points quickly

3. Hallucinations and fake references

Ask a vanilla AI for “IB references” and you’ll often get:

• fake page numbers

• invented studies

• wrong formulas dressed up confidently

Most IB students won’t fact-check every single line. That’s how you end up confident and wrong – the worst combo.

4. No real tracking of your progress

A normal chatbot:

• doesn’t remember your weak topics properly over time

• can’t show you accuracy, speed, or predicted grade

• can’t easily structure a long-term revision plan

It helps once, in a single chat. But it doesn’t behave like a coach – just a clever Q&A.

How to Use AI for IB Without Cheating

Here’s how AI can genuinely help you learn faster without crossing any lines.

1. Concept explanations (structured, not spoon-fed)

Good uses:

• “Explain this markscheme in simpler words.”

• “Break this IB Maths AA concept into steps with one example.”

• “I keep losing marks on this type of question – what am I missing?”

Bad uses:

• “Give me a full answer I can copy.”

• “Rephrase this so it doesn’t look like AI wrote it.”

2. Practice questions and exam-style drilling

Good:

• short, targeted questions for one topic

• full exam-style questions with worked solutions after you try

• mixed-topic sets to simulate real papers

Bad:

• asking for the exact exam you’ll sit (and believing anyone who claims to provide it)

• doing questions but never checking where your marks are actually lost

3. Feedback on your own answers

Good:

• “Here is my 10-mark Economics answer. Which command term marks am I missing?”

• “What would make this go from a 5 to a 7 in IB criteria language?”

Bad:

• “Rewrite this to be better” with no learning, no reflection, no engagement.

AI feedback is only useful if you still think and then apply it to the next question.

Why a Syllabus-Aligned AI Coach Beats Generic AI

This is where FourtyFive comes in.

Instead of being a general chatbot, FourtyFive is designed around IB revision specifically:

1. Built around IB topics and question types

• Questions are tagged to IB topics and subtopics, not random textbook chapters.

• You can drill exactly what you’ll be examined on.

• You avoid wasting time on nice-to-know content that isn’t examinable.

2. Markscheme thinking, not just pretty explanations

FourtyFive doesn’t just give you walls of text. It’s built to reflect markscheme logic:

• guided steps that match how marks are awarded

• emphasis on keywords and structure that examiners want

• feedback that tells you which marks you actually missed

So you train your brain to think in “marks per line”, not just “text per question”.

3. Data and analytics: your weak points in plain sight

Because everything you do in FourtyFive is structured, it can show you:

• your accuracy by topic

• your speed per question type

• a predicted grade range based on performance

Instead of guessing what to revise, FourtyFive says:

“You’re losing most marks in these topics – fix these first.”

That’s the type of targeted approach generic AI can’t provide out of the box.

4. Designed to stay on the right side of academic honesty

FourtyFive is built as a revision and practice tool, not an IA/EE generator.

You use it to:

• practise questions

• understand solutions

• identify weak spots

• get faster and more accurate

You don’t use it to generate final coursework. That’s the line. FourtyFive is very deliberately built to live on the safe side of that line.

Practical Ways to Use FourtyFive Alongside Other AI Tools

You don’t have to choose only one tool – you just need to use them wisely.

• Use FourtyFive for:

  • question practice

  • structured feedback

  • analytics and topic priorities

  • exam-mode sessions

• Use a generic AI (within school rules) for:

  • alternative explanations (“explain this like I’m 15”)

  • brainstorming IA ideas (you do the actual work)

  • planning / summarising your notes

The key is simple:

FourtyFive for what is examinable, generic AI for extra explanations – and you remain firmly inside IB rules.

Final Thoughts – AI Won’t Sit the Exam for You

AI can absolutely make IB revision:

• faster

• more targeted

• less stressful

But it can’t:

• sit in the exam hall for you

• think under pressure

• improvise when a question is weird

That part is still on you.

If you want AI that actually trains you — rather than just producing nice-looking answers — then a syllabus-aligned coach like FourtyFive is where you start.