<![CDATA[This study examines how English Education students perceive the integration of artificial intelligence tools, specifically ChatGPT and Grammarly, into their EFL writing practice. The researcher used a qualitative case study design and interviewed ten students at Universitas Negeri Makassar. These participants were selected purposively, on the basis that they already used AI regularly for their writing assignments, and the interviews themselves were semi-structured. Coding proceeded in three stages, open, axial, and selective, and four themes emerged from that process. AI serves as a helpful tool for technical writing tasks. Students pick up these tools mainly through watching classmates, not through formal teaching. Extrinsic motivations, speed, accuracy, grades, push most of the usage. And lecturers do warn students about over-reliance, though that warning rarely changes actual behavior. Participants spoke well of AI's help with paraphrasing, grammar, translation, vocabulary, and paragraph structuring. But how they learned to use it matters here: self-exploration and peer observation carried the weight, not instruction. Motivation followed the same shape, since most students cared about finishing quickly and getting a good grade rather than growing as writers. Lecturer warnings about dependence were common too, yet these cautions mostly failed to produce more critical or self-regulated use among students. The gap this leaves is between technical appreciation and deeper cognitive engagement. Students recognize what AI can do for them mechanically, but that recognition doesn't stretch into using these tools to think harder or better. EFL writing courses seem to be missing structured instruction in AI literacy, and the findings here suggest that gap needs closing.]]>
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