Exploring the Potential of ChatGPT in Developing a Virtual Assistant for Prevention and Support in Cases of School Bullying

Bullying is a global problem that negatively affects students, their families, and communities.This study addresses the creation and evaluation of an artificial intelligence (AI)-basedchatbot to provide emotional support to student victims of bullying, using a combination ofexploratory and descriptive approaches. A chatbot was developed on the Telegram messagingplatform, integrating the ChatGPT API to improve response generation. A topic- and equitysensitive design was implemented, and conversation logging and harassment detectionfunctionality was enabled. The research focused on the technical functionality of the chatbotand its ability to provide emotional support and guidance. The chatbot proved to be capable ofproviding basic emotional support and guidance to users. The integration of ChatGPTenriched the consistency and contextualization of responses. Intuitive interaction wasachieved through Telegram, providing relevant and contextually appropriate responses.Although this research focused on the technical functionality of the chatbot, itsimplementation in students and data analysis of user interactions represent important futuresteps. The chatbot has the potential to empower victims of bullying and improve schoolsafety. In addition, this research contributes to the creation of a new tool for collecting andanalyzing data on bullying, improving early detection and prevention.