Moving to a new culture and adapting to a new life, as an international student, can be a stressful experience. In the US, international students face unique overlapping challenges, yet the current support ecosystem, including university support systems and informal social networks, remains largely fragmented. While conversational AI has emerged as a tool used by many (e.g., generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Google Gemini), we do not have a clear understanding of how international students adopt and perceive these technologies as support tools. We conducted a survey study (n=60) to map the relationship between international students' challenges and AI adoption patterns, followed by an interview study with 14 participants to identify the underlying motivations and boundaries of use. Our findings show that AI is perceived as a first-aid tool for immediate challenges, however, there is an interest in transforming AI from a tool for short-term help into a long-term support companion. By identifying where and how AI can provide long-term support, and where it is insufficient, we contribute recommendations for creating AI-powered support tailored to the unique needs of international students.

翻译：作为一名国际学生，搬到一个新文化环境并适应新生活可能是一种压力重重的体验。在美国，国际学生面临着独特且重叠的挑战，然而现有的支持生态系统——包括大学支持系统和非正式社交网络——在很大程度上仍显得支离破碎。尽管会话式AI（如ChatGPT和Google Gemini等生成式AI聊天机器人）已成为许多人使用的工具，但我们对于国际学生如何采纳并将其视为支持工具仍缺乏清晰的认识。我们开展了一项调查研究（n=60），以映射国际学生面临的挑战与AI采纳模式之间的关系，随后对14名参与者进行了访谈研究，以确定使用背后的动机和界限。研究结果表明，AI被视为应对即时挑战的“急救”工具，但人们有兴趣将AI从短期帮助工具转变为长期支持伙伴。通过识别AI可以在哪些方面以及如何提供长期支持，以及它在哪些方面存在不足，我们为打造针对国际学生独特需求的AI驱动支持提出了建议。