We’re economists who designed a chatbot to help our students reason instead of cheat. Meet ‘Macro Buddy’

Economists created "Macro Buddy," an AI chatbot designed to help students develop critical reasoning skills rather than facilitate cheating. With 90% of 1,100 surveyed U.S. college students reporting generative AI use in 2025, this tool represents an educational approach to AI integration that emphasizes learning outcomes over academic dishonesty prevention.