• The Mathematical Education
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• v.63 no.3
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• pp.467-484
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• 2024

The rapid advancement of generative AI has ushered in an era where anyone can create and freely utilize personalized chatbots without the need for programming expertise. This study aimed to develop a customized chatbot based on OpenAI's GPTs for the purpose of pre-service teacher education and to analyze its educational performance in mathematics as assessed by educators guiding pre-service teachers. Responses to identical questions from a general-purpose chatbot (ChatGPT), a customized GPTs-based chatbot, and an elementary mathematics education expert were compared. The expert's responses received an average score of 4.52, while the customized GPTs-based chatbot received an average score of 3.73, indicating that the latter's performance did not reach the expert level. However, the customized GPTs-based chatbot's score, which was close to "adequate" on a 5-point scale, suggests its potential educational utility. On the other hand, the general-purpose chatbot, ChatGPT, received a lower average score of 2.86, with feedback indicating that its responses were not systematic and remained at a general level, making it less suitable for use in mathematics education. Despite the proven educational effectiveness of conventional customized chatbots, the time and cost associated with their development have been significant barriers. However, with the advent of GPTs services, anyone can now easily create chatbots tailored to both educators and learners, with responses that achieve a certain level of mathematics educational validity, thereby offering effective utilization across various aspects of mathematics education.