Over the last few years, successes in natural language processing and advances demonstrated by generative artificial intelligence have led to the emergence of new generations of chatbots with greater and qualitatively different capabilities than those that existed until very recently. These are powerful and easy-to-use innovative tools with significant potential to revolutionize many and diverse human activities, including education. This paper explores the possibilities and implications of integrating chatbots into university environments to ever further improve and optimize learning processes. The paper examines the impact of chatbots on a number of higher education processes and discusses the possibilities for higher student and faculty engagement as well as new opportunities in the educational process within higher education institutions. Results from a study of the impact of chatbots on students and lecturers are presented.