Understanding AI in Higher Education: Gendered and Intersectional Students’ Experiences with ChatGPT Use

The integration of ChatGPT into higher education is expanding rapidly, particularly within. These applications are increasingly associated with perceived improvements in student performance. This study examines how university students across the United Arab Emirates engage with ChatGPT and explores how demographic factors influence adoption patterns. A quantitative design was employed using a structured questionnaire completed by 506 students from several higher education institutions in the UAE. The results show significant differences in ChatGPT usage based on gender, academic level, and field of study. Female students reported higher usage than male students, and senior students used ChatGPT more often than juniors. Findings also reveal that students in non-technical programs rely more heavily on ChatGPT for writing and language support. These insights contribute to the growing body of research on AI adoption in Gulf Region higher education and deepen our understanding of students' digital learning behaviors. The study concludes that ChatGPT meaningfully improves academic writing, particularly for students who use English as a second language, while emphasizing the need for targeted training to ensure equitable and effective integration of generative AI tools across higher education.