ChatGPT expands its foothold in the nation's classrooms

ChatGPT for Teachers is expanding for the new school year.

Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance via Getty Images OpenAI is roughly doubling the footprint of its ChatGPT for Teachers product.

The tool is a free version of the company's business plan, part of a bid to woo educators.

More than 2 million US students now live in districts signed up for the product, OpenAI says.

Teachers are heading back to school, and ChatGPT is coming with them.

OpenAI announced 55 new partnerships with American school districts on Wednesday, roughly doubling the reach of its ChatGPT for Teachers product.

The districts signed on represent more than 300,000 staffers and 2 million students.

The product, a slightly tweaked version of OpenAI's traditional business offering, aims to bring teachers on board with AI tools and give districts oversight.

The product is strictly for adults, since OpenAI is not yet integrating student accounts or student-facing features.

Not everyone is on board with AI in the classroom, as more students use it to complete assignments.

A Pew Research Center survey last year found that more than half of teenagers have used AI chatbots for help with schoolwork, and more still believe their peers have used them to cheat.

Some parents have begun organizing against AI in schools .

Leah Belsky, OpenAI's vice president of education, said in a press briefing about the ChatGPT for Teachers rollout that improvements in AI's capabilities make "teacher judgment, teacher guidance, and district oversight even more important than before." OpenAI launched ChatGPT for Teachers last November and has committed to keeping it free through June 2028.

Districts in 30 states have now onboarded with the tool, OpenAI said, with the densest uptake in the Los Angeles area and in the Northeast.