Effectiveness of using AI-powered microsoft search progress for enhancing information literacy in research tasks

The plethora of internet sources today can overwhelm even tech-savvy learners, making it hard to determine information reliability. Consequently, information literacy is paramount for learners to identify reliable sources and information, comprehending, creating and organizing, and using information as research is a time-consuming process. To address this, amid limited empirical evidence on AI-enhanced tools in non-Western contexts, Microsoft introduced Artificial Intelligence powered Search Progress in February 2023, which, educators at the University of Technology and Applied Sciences, AlMusannah, have been exploiting to promote learners’ information literacy in research. An explorative mixed methodological study, therefore, examined foundation level learners’ (N = 205; 97 males and 108 females) perceptions Microsoft Search Progress effectiveness for a Project and Presentation course based on principles of constructivism, connectivism and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Technology, Pedagogy, Content Knowledge. A 5- point Likert scale survey questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data, and an open-ended question was used to collect qualitative data to gain deeper insights. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics and triangulated with qualitative data findings, which was analyzed using the framework method for interpretation. Findings demonstrated moderate positive perceptions (M = 3.4–3.6) but trivial affirmative TAM correlations (r = 0.00–0.19, p < 0.5), contrasting conventional theory. Importantly, information literacy correlated negatively with perceived ease of use (r = − 0.91, p = 0.03), revealing “expert contradiction, while gender variation was statically significant (p < 0.001). The study suggests a TAM-AI framework integrating algorithmic transparency, illustrating AI platforms need adapted acceptance models. Future research should corroborate this framework and research educational strategies for advancing integrated AI-information literacy skills.