Performance of AI Chatbots on the fundamentals of engineering civil exam

Abstract

The growing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in education, particularly through AI chatbots powered by large language models (LLMs), requires careful evaluation of their benefits and limitations. This study examines the potential of three leading AI chatbots—ChatGPT, Gemini, and DeepSeek—as educational tools for civil engineering students by evaluating their performance on the fundamentals of engineering (FE) civil exam. Using a standardized dataset, chatbot responses were analyzed across three criteria: Final Answer Correctness, Conceptual Understanding, and Correct Use of Equations. Indicative results show that ChatGPT o3, ChatGPT-4o, DeepSeek-R1, and Gemini 2.5 Pro achieved accuracies above 70%, while DeepSeek-V3 and Gemini 2.0 Flash scored above 60%. Performance was highest in foundational subjects introduced early in engineering curricula and lowest in advanced, domain-specific areas, indicating the need for enhanced reasoning capabilities and targeted domain training. In addition, the performance of AI chatbots was further analyzed by comparing their accuracy on text-based versus image-based questions. Accuracy was significantly higher for text-based questions (average 87%) compared to image-based questions (42%), revealing current limitations in visual interpretation. These findings suggest that while AI chatbots can potentially serve as practical tutoring tools for early-stage learners, further refinement is needed for complex, visual, or advanced engineering tasks. This study contributes to understanding the role of AI in civil engineering education and informs strategies for its integration into academic practice.

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