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Description
This study investigates the role of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in Project-Based Learning (PBL) in an undergraduate Business English context. A descriptive quantitative survey was conducted with 234 students after completion of a field-based project on digital technologies in small food businesses. The questionnaire examined AI-use patterns across six stages of the PBL process and four perception constructs: Language Support, Project Task Support, Learner Development, and Risks and Limitations. All respondents reported using AI. ChatGPT (97.4%) and Google Gemini (85.9%) were the most widely used tools, and AI use was most frequent in preparing survey/interview questions (M = 3.71), research planning (M = 3.68), and data processing/interpretation (M = 3.68). Students reported high perceived Language Support (M = 3.73), Project Task Support (M = 3.70), and Learner Development (M = 3.60), while also showing high awareness of Risks and Limitations (M = 3.74). Most respondents checked AI-generated information (82.1%) and compared it with other sources (76.9%), although 33.8% acknowledged sometimes using AI output with little or no modification. The findings indicate that AI can support both language use and complex project work, but better project performance should not be equated automatically with deeper learning. The study argues that AI is most pedagogically valuable when it functions as a scaffold rather than a substitute for students’ linguistic and cognitive work, and recommends stage-specific guidance, verification training, process-based assessment, and explicit AI-literacy outcomes in Business English courses.