Higher education is at a pivotal juncture due to the rapid integration Generative AI (GenAI) into students’ academic practices. Emerging frameworks such as the Council of Europe’s Compass on AI for Education and the Irish Higher Education Authority’s Generative AI in Higher Education in Teaching & Learning Policy Framework provide an important strategic policy foundation for guiding responsible and pedagogically sound GenAI integration into Irish universities. While these frameworks are welcome, they must remain adaptable to rapidly evolving technologies and local student practices.

This study offers a student-informed empirical contribution to support context-sensitive institutional guidance on GenAI use. It explores how undergraduate Finance and Economics students leverage AI to support learning using a cross-sectional study across Years 1–4 at Atlantic Technological University (ATU), Ireland. A convergent parallel mixed methods design combines quantitative survey data with qualitative open-ended responses and focus groups. Ethical approval was sought and granted by the university’s Research Ethics Committee.

Findings show that students use GenAI for research, exam preparation, content summarisation and personalised learning, but face challenges related to equity of access, poor guidance, overreliance, diminished confidence, academic integrity tensions and reliability concerns. These findings suggest several institutional actions. ATU should leverage its existing comprehensive GenAI framework to provide consistent and regular student support. Targeted professional development is required for responsible integration, including assessment design aligned with academic integrity, clear usage expectations and discipline-specific approaches. These findings complement the European and Irish policy frameworks to inform GenAI guidance at ATU with locally grounded, stakeholder-informed governance.