NONE 20260227063912127 wseas/wseas content-registration-form+ja@crossref.org content-registration-form WSEAS TRANSACTIONS ON SYSTEMS 1109-2777 2224-2678 Xiangxiang Mei School of Yonyou Digital and Intelligence, Nantong Institute of Technology, Nantong, CHINA Md. Gapar Md Johar Software Engineering and Digital Innovation Center, Management and Science University, Shah Alam, Selangor, MALAYSIA Jacquline Tham School of Graduate Studies, Post Graduate Center, Management and Science University, Shah Alam, Selangor, MALAYSIA This study used the extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) framework to explore students' perceptions and adoption on artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots in Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, China. The study focused on three core elements: perceived trust (PT), perceived utility (PU), and perceived ease of use (PEU). It also examined how these beliefs together affected students' intentions to act and ultimately shaped their actual use of the technology. The research employed Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with survey data from 586 college students to evaluate the connections among the variables. The results indicate that students' intentions to use AI chatbots are significantly influenced by these three technical perception factors. Additionally, students' intentions to adopt mediate the relationship between technical perception and actual adoption. Ultimately, these results provide some useful theoretical ideas and practical steps for integrating AI tools into China's educational landscape. 02 27 2026 02 27 2026 116 11 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en_US 10.37394/23202.2026.25.11 https://wseas.com/journals/systems/2026/a225102-1051.pdf Escotet, M. Á. (2024). The optimistic future of Artificial Intelligence in higher education. Prospects, 54(3), 531-540. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11125-023-09642-z. Davar, N. F., Dewan, M. A. A., & Zhang, X. (2025). AI chatbots in education: challenges and opportunities. 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