The objective of the study is to examine the referencing behavior of a group of academic university members in relation to the utilization of artificial intelligence in the educational process, as well as the difficulties associated with its implementation. The study employed a descriptive methodology, using interviews as a means to analyze the reference activity of a selected group of Arab university academics. The investigation produced the subsequent findings: The study sample estimated that there are numerous and different uses of artificial intelligence in the educational process at universities. The arithmetic means of these applications, as determined by the study of reference activity, fell within the range of 5.61 to 6.01, indicating relatively high levels for both. The scale levels for the use of reference activity were as follows: observance (mean = 5.72), specification (mean = 5.43), clarity (mean = 6.16), and conception (mean = 5.94).The interviews revealed a variety of difficulties and barriers (including human, technical, financial, cognitive, and social factors) encountered by university instructors when incorporating artificial intelligence into the teaching process. These challenges varied from an arithmetic mean of 5.6 to 6.17, indicating moderately high and moderately high levels, respectively. The research suggests the incorporation of artificial intelligence application technology into the higher education teaching process.