With the rise of generative AI in education, understanding the factors influencing Chinese high school students’ intention to use AI holds both theoretical and practical value. This study aims to develop a usage intention model suited to the Chinese...
With the rise of generative AI in education, understanding the factors influencing Chinese high school students’ intention to use AI holds both theoretical and practical value. This study aims to develop a usage intention model suited to the Chinese educational context, drawing on the Information Systems Success Model, UTAUT, and Social Cognitive Theory. The model incorporates satisfaction, usage intention, social influence, self-efficacy, trust, personification, economic resistance, and habitual resistance. Using survey data and structural equation modeling, the findings show that system, information, and service quality positively affect satisfaction; social influence and trust enhance satisfaction via teachers, parents, and peers; self-efficacy, personification, and satisfaction drive usage intention—with personification being most impactful; while economic and habitual resistance negatively affect both satisfaction and intention. This study confirms the model’s applicability and integrates emotional and cultural variables into educational technology research. Practical implications include enhancing system performance and emotional design, leveraging teacher and parent influence, and reducing usage barriers.