A guide to AI tools at the U of A
By Jade Norden, University Marketing and Communications
Explore AI tools available to employees and what they can do. The best option depends on the task and information you are working with.
From drafting an email to summarizing a meeting or analyzing a document, artificial intelligence tools can help faculty and staff tackle everyday tasks.
The university provides access to several AI platforms with different capabilities, giving employees a range of options without requiring them to purchase individual AI subscriptions.
David Ebert, chief AI and data science officer at the Office of Research and Partnerships, presents at the AI Town Hall in April 2026.
Kris Hanning/Office of Research and Partnerships
“Many people were already using AI tools with their own accounts,” said David Ebert, chief AI and data science officer at the Office of Research and Partnerships. “We wanted something that was available to the university that protected the data, so we evaluated all the models that were available from all the major vendors.”
The best option depends on the task and information you are working with. Here’s a look at some of the AI tools available and what they can do.
U of A GenAI provides access to multiple large language models through one secure chat interface. Users can compare responses from different AI models, upload files, search the web and use the tool to support research, teaching and everyday work.
The platform currently offers models from Anthropic Claude, Google Gemma, OpenAI GPT, Meta Llama and Amazon Nova. Model availability may change as new models become available.
Example uses: Brainstorm, answer questions, draft content, summarize documents, analyze files and charts, prototype workflows, develop departmental chatbots and assist with course materials.
The university provides access to several AI platforms with different capabilities, including U of A GenAI that has access to multiple large language models through one secure chat interface.
The AI Companion is built into Zoom. Employees can enable it in the settings of their U of A Zoom account. Since meeting content can vary in sensitivity, users should consider the content of a meeting before turning on AI Companion rather than setting it to turn on automatically.
Example uses: Catch up on a meeting if arriving late, summarize meetings and chat threads, identify action items, draft chat messages and organize cloud recordings into chapters and highlights.
Microsoft Copilot is an AI assistant integrated with Microsoft products many employees already use, including Outlook, Teams, Word, PowerPoint and Excel.
Example uses: Summarize Teams meetings, create meeting minutes, draft emails, create presentations and analyze data.
As an Adobe Creative Campus, faculty, staff and students have access to generative AI tools in Adobe Creative Cloud, including Firefly, Photoshop, Express and Illustrator. Firefly’s AI model uses Adobe Stock images to generate images, an approach meant to reduce copyright concerns.
Example uses: Generate and edit images and videos, remove backgrounds and change elements within images.
Gemini is an AI assistant that can be used on the web and with Google applications such as Gmail, Docs, Sheets and Drive.
Example uses: Analyze and summarize documents, brainstorm ideas, draft communications and develop content in multiple languages.
Gemini Notebook is an AI research tool that works with sources users provide, such as PDFs, Google Docs and other documents.
Example uses: Summarize and compare documents, organize information, explore ideas, prepare for meetings and support work such as accreditation reviews, strategic planning and policy analysis.
As AI technology evolves, the university continues to expand its AI resources and explore more tools and services to support teaching, research and the university’s mission.
Here are some of the tools to be released or tested this fall.
AI Discovery Lab
The platform, to be released this fall semester, supports teaching and research through dedicated sandboxes for running artificial intelligence and machine learning tasks.
Example uses: Analyze and visualize data, access computing resources, support workshops and teaching labs.
Arizona AI Assistant
The platform, to begin pilot testing this fall semester, allows users to create and manage dedicated knowledge databases and leverage AI models specialized for these databases.
Example uses: Create custom models for research and agentic tasks.
AI Classroom (AI Verde)
The platform, which is being tested and will be released this fall semester, allows users to create state-of-the-art AI models for their classes.
Example uses: Develop AI models for specific courses.
Protect your data
University-supported AI tools offer additional privacy and security protections, but not all university data can be used with every tool.
Before entering university information into an AI tool, check the AI Tools and Data Use Guide to see which tools can be used with different data types.
Darcy Van Patten
“When we evaluate AI tools, the first thing we look at is whether the tool protects the university's data,” said Darcy Van Patten, executive director of specialized services and digital resources at University Information Technology Services. “We check if they keep university data from going out into the large language model.”
Public information, such as published research, press releases, policies and event information, can be used in AI tools. Internal data, such as memos, budget drafts and other non-restricted data, should only be used in university-supported AI tools accessed with NetID. Restricted data, such as FERPA-protected student records, HIPAA health data, Social Security and credit card numbers and non-disclosed research intellectual property, shouldn’t be entered into AI chats.
The Office of Responsible AI encourages users to remove personally identifiable information before using AI, delete those chats after use and avoid using AI to store or maintain student records.
Get help using AI
Employees can find guidance and support for choosing and using AI tools.
The Office of Responsible AI provides resources, such as AI guidelines and principles and a monthly newsletter, and events, including an AI Town Hall on Sept. 2 that will help shape the future of AI at the U of A.
The office also hosts the AI Insights Series every other Tuesday from noon to 1 p.m. on Zoom, featuring faculty, staff and others who discuss AI projects and applications.
“Our job here is to help everyone understand how they can use AI responsibly and ethically to make them more effective and efficient in what they're doing,” said Ebert. “If there's any questions about anything related to AI, we're here to help.”
Faculty looking for help incorporating AI into their courses can visit the University Center for Assessment, Teaching and Technology’s Teaching with AI resources website, explore upcoming UCATT AI events or schedule a consultation with Adele Leon, senior instructional designer at UCATT.