This article examines the integration of AI in education through student perspectives and experiences across multiple philosophy of education sections from Fall 2023 to Fall 2024. The phenomenological study involved two separate projects. In the first, students evaluated ChatGPT across various educational roles, including tutor, teacher’s assistant, motivational coach, philosopher, and educational reformer. Through guided in-class and homework activities, they critically assessed the chatbot’s capabilities, uncovering its strengths, limitations, and the complexities of its use in academic contexts. In the second project, students took on the role of creators, designing and testing custom chatbots tailored for specific educational purposes. Student reflections reveal insightful patterns on their preferred ways of interacting with AI tools and which ones promote learning and engagement. The findings suggest that AI integration in education is most effective when students are active participants in shaping and assessing its applications, rather than passive recipients of its outputs.