| Sumario: | Background: Over the past few years, artificial intelligence (AI) has been both transformative and disruptive, impacting various facets of English teaching and learning. AI chatbots, in particular, have opened up new possibilities for interactive language instruction and personalised language learning. However, little is known about how AI chatbots can empower critical thinking (CT), particularly among English majors. Objectives: To address this gap, this study used a sample of 40 English majors from a university in Macau as research participants. Methods: The sample participated in semi‐structured individual interviews, and the study employed qualitative thematic analysis to analyse the data. Results and Conclusions: Results suggested that teacher guidance and guidelines as well as independent thinking were two possible precursors to AI chatbot‐empowered CT. The results also indicated that contrastive analysis, critical evaluation, collaborative critique, context‐specific applications of AI chatbots, and exposure to multiple perspectives were mechanisms for AI chatbot‐empowered CT. Integrating these findings with extant scholarship, this study constructed a framework for AI chatbot‐empowered CT, providing insights on how AI chatbots can foster students' CT. This framework contributes to the growing discourse on AI in education and constitutes a valuable reference for both researchers and practitioners seeking to integrate AI chatbots into the classroom for CT cultivation purposes. Lay Summary: What is currently known about this topic? ○Some ways of using AI chatbots to enhance students' CT, such as using different perspectives offered by AI chatbots to encourage students to be open‐minded.○The impact of AI chatbots on CT is complex, with both positive and negative influences being found by previous research.What does this paper add? ○Novel applications of AI chatbots to foster CT among English learners, such as engaging them in the analysis of situations where AI chatbots either enhance or hinder CT.○A systematic approach to using AI chatbots to enhance students' CT which specifies both the necessary conditions (e.g., careful pedagogical design) and effective strategies (e.g., providing adaptive learning materials and interactive questioning).Implications for practice/or policy ○Provide a valuable reference for English teachers when they design the use of AI chatbots in the classroom.○Teachers should ensure that all prerequisites to AI chatbot‐empowered CT are made available.
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