Read on to find out.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been around for a long time.
It's a machine's way of performing specific tasks in response to a set of rules or inputs. It can answer questions, recommend products, analyse data, automate tasks and much, much more.
It can't create anything new. But Generative AI (GenAI) - a subfield of AI - gets very close.
GenAI is the technology behind large language models such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Claude.
Trained on massive amounts of data, these models, and the AI chatbots built from them, can produce natural, human-like writing, images, audio and video in response to prompts.
The short answer is: no.
Using a GenAI tool to write your personal statement may seem like a quick and easy solution to a difficult task, but the risks significantly outweigh any potential benefit.
According to UCAS, if you get an AI chatbot to generate all or large parts of your personal statement and then copy and paste to use as your final text, it could be considered cheating.
Because GenAI is trained on pre-existing material – sometimes from questionable or copyrighted sources – the risk that your AI-generated personal statement could be too similar to someone else’s is significantly increased.
UCAS already uses a similarity detection system to compare statements and combat fraud. Using GenAI gives you a higher chance of your personal statement being flagged as plagiarism. If this happens, the university you're applying to may be alerted, and this could affect your chances of receiving an offer.
The advice from UCAS is that your personal statement should be just that: personal and written by you.
Writing a personal statement is a milestone in your journey to university, and an opportunity to showcase your skills, ambitions, and experiences in your own voice, which is what university admissions staff are interested in.
Putting these experiences down in writing can also help you confirm whether you're applying for the correct course or not: for example, you may find yourself more suited to Film Studies rather than English Language, or Marine Engineering instead of Mechanical Engineering.
Bear in mind, too, that while it can be tempting to save time by generating a personal statement using a chatbot, GenAI is rapidly being viewed as a tool for cheating.
Leading universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, and Edinburgh have released statements prohibiting the unauthorised use of GenAI by their current students, so chances are they'll take a dim view of an AI-generated personal statement submitted as part of an application to study with them.
If you haven't been told that ChatGPT is not a search engine, now you know.
Because of its sudden popularity, some people are turning to chatbots such as ChatGPT as an alternative to Google or Bing. However, to use this in an academic setting would be a huge mistake.
Chatbots are known for getting simple facts wrong, or making up convincing alternatives in a process known as ‘hallucinating’. ChatGPT’s creators have even admitted the chatbot ‘sometimes writes plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers’.
You would be more successful using real search engines to point you towards reliable sources than using an AI chatbot as a search engine.
When used ethically, GenAI can still be a great tool to support the writing of your personal statement. Here are some ways to use it without risking your legitimacy:
If you do choose to use a GenAI tool to explore ideas for your personal statement, remember you must confirm your personal statement hasn’t been copied or provided from another source – including AI software – before you submit your application.
Help was always available before GenAI, and that hasn’t changed.
If you need help with your personal statement, you could: