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Current knowledge and research on students’ utilization and interaction with generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools in their academic work is limited. This study aims to investigate students’ engagement with these tools.

This research used survey-based research to investigate generative AI literacy (utilization, interaction, evaluation of output and ethics) among students enrolled in a four-year public university in the southeastern USA. This article focuses on the respondents who have used generative AI (218; 47.2%).

Most respondents used generative AI to generate ideas for papers, projects or assignments, and they also used AI to assist with their original ideas. Despite their use of AI assistance, most students were critical of generative AI output, and this mindset was reflected in their reported interactions with ChatGPT. Respondents expressed a need for explicit guidance from course syllabi and university policies regarding generative AI’s ethical and appropriate use.

Literature related to generative AI use in higher education specific to ChatGPT is predominantly from educators’ viewpoints. This study provides empirical evidence about how university students report using generative AI in the context of generative AI literacy.