Generative AI in undergraduate learning: A cross-cultural study of U.S. and Albanian students

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools have rapidly become integrated into undergraduate academic life, yet important questions remain regarding how students use these technologies and how institutions should respond. This exploratory study examines undergraduate students’ AI use, AI confidence, prompting competency, governance awareness, and perceptions of acceptable AI-supported learning practices across institutions in the United States and Albania. Findings indicate that generative AI use is already highly normalized within higher education, with students primarily using AI for concept explanation, studying, brainstorming, summarization, and writing support. At the same time, evidence of substitution-oriented behaviors, including assignment generation and homework completion, suggests that AI use exists on a continuum between learning support and academic outsourcing. The study also revealed institutional and cross-cultural variations in patterns of AI engagement, reflecting differences in educational environments, governance approaches, and student experiences with generative AI technologies. Collectively, these findings emphasize the increasing need for higher education institutions to strengthen AI literacy, develop students’ prompting skills, establish clearer governance frameworks, and encourage responsible and reflective use of AI in academic learning.