KB0023347
Generative AI
Generative AI Tools
Generative AI (GenAI) Tools at UVA
UVA ITS offers UVA Copilot Chat (Copilot Chat) and UVA Copilot for Microsoft 365 (Copilot for M365). It is important to be aware of guidelines that apply when using these Microsoft Generative AI products:
- Generative AI use is subject to UVA's Responsible Use Guidelines.
- Your school or unit may have additional Generative AI usage guidelines that you should review.
- Highly Sensitive Data (HSD) should never be entered into a Generative AI tool.
- By using these tools, you acknowledge that you agree to UVA's Terms of Use.
Compare Copilot Chat and Copilot for M365:
Copilot Chat
Copilot Chat is an AI chat platform that generates content in response to your prompts. It is accessed in your internet browser. Once you log in using your UVA credentials, the environment is protected and information you enter remains internal to UVA.
Who has access: Faculty, staff, students with UVA Academic M365 accounts
Is a license required: Included with M365; No additional license required
Cost: No purchase necessary
Copilot for M365
Copilot for M365 is a Generative AI companion embedded within your Microsoft 365 programs, like Outlook and Word, etc. It is connected to content you have access to when you are logged into your official UVA Academic Microsoft 365 account and it can assist with tasks.
Who is it for: Faculty, staff affiliated with any UVA school or unit, except the School of Law and Darden School of Business
Is a license required: Yes
Cost: $360/year
Responsible Use of Generative AI Tools at UVA
View UVA's responsible use guidelines and terms of use here.
Access a list of teaching and learning resources here
FAQs
Although many excellence resources are in development across grounds, we recommend these three as a starting place for your exploration:
- Office of the Provost – Guidance for Faculty and Students
- Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) - GenAI in Teaching and Learning Resources
- Office of the Provost – GenAI Teaching and Learning Task Force Report
Copilot Chat is available for use by faculty, staff, and students, with a few exceptions. To access Copilot Chat, your UVA Microsoft account must have the central A5 academic license for faculty and staff issued by ITS.
Examples of accounts that are not part of the A5 academic license include:
- Sponsored Accounts that have Microsoft accounts with an A1 license (commonly associated with a visiting faculty member or contract position).
- Accounts provisioned by a separate tenant, such as UVA Health, Darden, or Law.
Darden and Law: You may access your school's Copilot by logging in with your area's academic credentials (e.g. computingid@lawschool.virginia.edu and computingid@darden.virginia.edu).
To ensure you are within the protected Copilot Chat account (not a personal or other Copilot Chat account) and that your data is secure, please look for (1) your UVA ID (email address) indicating that you are logged into your UVA M365 account and (2) the “Protected” badge as pictured below.
Remember, if you have individually signed up for a GenAI account, you are personally responsible for what happens with that account. UVA’s licensed Generative AI tools provide data protection that does not exist when using individually licensed tools. Do not use University data, except for data classified as “Public”, with AI tools that have not been appropriately contracted and licensed with the necessary data protections as these data could be exposed to others and/or used to train AI models.
Please review additional considerations in our UVA Responsible Use Guidelines.
UVA GenAI tools are intended for academic purposes within the University community. Personal use falls outside the scope of the intended usage.
Usage must adhere to the Responsible Use Guidelines and Terms and Conditions.
UVA ITS prioritizes the confidentiality and security of user data. Information entered into GenAI tools is not used for purposes beyond the scope of support for the specific tool's functionality.
Like other apps and tools provided by UVA ITS, ITS does not actively monitor individual user data entered into GenAI tools.
UVA’s licensed Generative AI tool (Copilot Chat) includes contractual data protection of university information. With appropriately licensed tools, all prompt data remains in a UVA-specific tenant and are not shared with others or used for training of AI models.
With appropriately licensed tools, “Sensitive” data may be used in chat prompts. “Highly Sensitive” data, as explicitly defined in the University Data Protection Standards, cannot be included in chat prompts. See Responsible Use Guidelines for other important considerations.
To ensure you are within the protected Copilot Chat account (not a personal or other Copilot Chat account) and that your data is secure, please look for (1) your UVA ID (email address) indicating that you are logged into your UVA M365 account and (2) the “Protected” badge as pictured below.
There is no limit. Your account has 30 available responses per chat topic. To refresh your available responses, just start a new topic.
Proper attribution is essential when using GenAI tools for academic or other University purposes. The Office of the Provost Frequently Asked Questions About GenAI page offers guidance on acknowledgement and various citation styles.
Specifically, see topics:
Short URL for this page: https://in.virginia.edu/genai