This study examines the relationship between perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) of artificial intelligence (AI) systems among pre-service teachers and their actual use of AI during school placement. It seeks to challenge dominant narratives of AI inevitability by investigating whether widespread claims about AI’s transformative potential are reflected in everyday professional practice within Initial Teacher Education (ITE).

An exploratory mixed-methods design was employed within one Irish Higher Education Institution. Quantitative survey data were collected from pre-service teachers undertaking school placement. The survey findings were treated as foundational, providing a descriptive mapping of PU, PEOU, and reported AI use. These results informed the design of subsequent semi-structured focus group interviews which constituted the primary analytic component of the study. The focus groups were analysed thematically, guided by Reflexive Thematic Analysis and theoretically informed by the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and conceptualisations of AI hype as an external variable shaping technology perceptions.

Three major themes were identified: ‘the actual use gap,’ ‘the human oversight imperative,’ and ‘selective utility.’ The findings indicate a disconnect between pre-service teachers’ positive perceptions of AI and their limited professional use during school placement. Overall, AI hype narratives did not translate into sustained classroom integration; instead, pre-service teachers exercised a ‘cautious but curious’ approach to actual AI use.