AI chatbots have become an important part of higher education. They are employed in numerous use cases, among others, students use AI chatbots to assist them with their study tasks. They are exploited to provide further explanations, search for information, and get assistance for different practical and theoretical assignments. The paper presents a two-year study looking into students’ attitudes towards AI chatbots, researching the usage of chatbots and analysing the students’ perception of the usefulness, benefits and barriers of AI chatbots. The data was gathered in a master’s degree IT-oriented study program using a developed questionnaire. The study was implemented two years in a row, following the same generation of students in the first and second years of their master’s studies. The results confirmed that students use chatbots daily, perceive them as easy and fun to use, and see the AI chatbots as valuable tools for study. The participants believe that chatbots provide information in diverse fields and can help them understand different theories and concepts. On the other hand, students know the AI chatbot’s pitfalls, like inaccurate or false statements or problems related to ensuring trustworthy citations. Significant differences between opinions gathered in their studies’ first and second years were not detected. However, in line with expectations, the use of chatbots will be continued by students, which indicates that the perceived advantages outweigh the potential, usually successfully addressed challenges and barriers.