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Ask HN: Are AI "Chatbot Wrappers" ruining EdTech? I'm testing a proactive UX

Swadesh9422 Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Hey everyone,

I’ve been doing customer discovery with CS students learning Data Structures and Algorithms. Right now, every AI tutor in the market is just a reactive chatbox (like ChatGPT next to a code editor).

The problem is, when a student is completely stuck on a logic problem (like Dynamic Programming), they don't even know what to prompt the AI. They just stare at the screen.

I am validating a new UX: A Proactive AI Mentor without a chatbox.

Instead of the user prompting the AI, the AI sits in the background and watches the code editor. It only intervenes via GitHub-style inline comments when a specific event triggers (e.g., they haven't typed in 60 seconds, or they write an O(n^2) loop when it should be O(n)).

Basically, it feels like a Senior Dev looking over your shoulder, rather than a search engine waiting to be asked.

As developers and founders, do you think this "event-driven/proactive" UX is the future for highly technical learning, or am I overcomplicating it? Would love to hear your thoughts.

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