Artificial intelligence-based chatbots and psychology: assessment of fundamental knowledge and practical skills

New artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, including chatbots, are being actively introduced into the field of education, providing users with new learning opportunities. The rapid receipt of responses, the structure, and the brevity of information make chatbots more and more attractive to students. In this regard, many students use them when preparing for classes, writing papers, and solving problems. However, the question arises as to how much the answers of chatbots can be trusted. Do they always provide reliable information? This article is devoted to the study of competence in the field of psychology of chatbots such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini. For this purpose, multi-level assignments were compiled aimed at studying their knowledge, skills, and abilities in the field of psychology. The results showed a fairly high level of psychological competence of chatbots. However, significant limitations were also identified, including the lack of criticality and the provision of inaccurate or false information in some cases. The obtained results and conclusions contribute to a better understanding of the features of AI-based chatbots, their capabilities, and limitations, which must be taken into account for the effective use of this technology and its rational integration into the educational process.