Approved AI Tools
Security and Institutional Data
The tools listed here are approved for KU Lawrence students, faculty, staff, and researchers; availability depends on your affiliation at the university, and some tools or subscriptions may require use of departmental funds to obtain. This does not mean that you can't request other AI tools through KU's procurement process; please see additional info at the bottom of this page. KU Medical Center staff should contact their respective IT team(s) before using AI tools for their work. All users should verify that they are logged in with their university credentials if they intend to enter any sensitive data into an approved AI tool.
| Approved AI Tools |
|---|
| Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat |
| Microsoft Copilot Studio |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot Full License (fall 2025) |
| Adobe Creative Suite |
Microsoft 365 Copilot
When you're signed into your KU account, your data and activity within Microsoft Copilot are significantly more protected than when using external generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT, Gemini, or others). This enhanced security is one of the key reasons Copilot is the approved generative AI tool for use across campus. However, please note that Copilot should not be used with highly sensitive data, including Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). If you're unsure whether a specific type of data is appropriate for use in Copilot, please contact KU IT Security at itsec@ku.edu.
Microsoft Copilot is actually a set of multiple Microsoft AI applications all branded as "Microsoft Copilot", but with different capabilities for each product. At the KU Lawrence campus, there are three Copilot product options; one is already available, and the other two options will be available to request in fall 2025.
Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is available to all KU Lawrence students, faculty, staff, and researchers. You can access all available features of Copilot Chat by logging onto m365.cloud.microsoft with your KU online ID to access the features within your KU Microsoft 365 license.
Copilot Chat has evolved significantly since its original release. You can now upload files and ask Copilot to help with tasks like summarizing Word documents, analyzing Excel data, or suggesting improvements to PowerPoint presentations.
In addition to chat-based assistance, you can collaborate with others and share AI-generated content via Copilot Pages. You can also create and deploy Copilot agents to automate repetitive tasks and business process - all within the Copilot Chat environment.
Microsoft 365 Copilot Studio is now part of both Copilot Chat and the Copilot Full License, and is a low-code generative AI solution designed for creating and deploying customized "agents" to help complete internal or tasks or processes, or can be published as public-facing with approval from KU IT. Copilot Studio agents can also be integrated with Microsoft Power Platform to create autonomous workflows to further automate productivity. For this reason, a more in-depth conversation with KU IT may be needed to assess needs and estimate costs for you or your department's use case.
For agents that you wish to publish: you can file a ticket with your IT support team, provide information about the type of work you perform and the types of data you may be working with within the tool, and they can forward to the correct KU IT teams for review and follow-up.
Microsoft 365 Copilot Full License will be available for approved uses starting in fall 2025, and can be licensed to KU Lawrence faculty, staff, and researchers. It carries an annual subscription cost that your department will be responsible for, currently projected at $220 per user per year, but will not be confirmed until later this fall. Copilot Full License is integrated across the M365 application suite and is able to interact with your Microsoft 365 applications, email, and files stored in OneDrive for a more detailed and personalized experience. To request Copilot Full License, you will need to complete a Technology Procurement Request and provide information about the type of work you perform and the types of data you may be working with within the tool.
Adobe Creative Suite Products
Adobe Creative Cloud is a full suite of professional creativity tools including Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere, and many more. It is available to KU Lawrence faculty, staff, researchers, and some students and student employees based on their major or employment role. Adobe Creative Cloud leverages Firefly, Adobe's generative AI engine, for a variety of generative AI tasks and enhancements.
Adobe Express is available to all KU Lawrence students, faculty, staff, and researchers, and offers lightweight and powerful tools to design digital, print, and video media. Adobe Express leverages Firefly, Adobe's generative AI engine, to offer AI tools such as "Text to Image" and "Generative Fill".
Adobe Firefly, Adobe's generative AI engine, is included with Creative Cloud and Express, and is available as a stand-alone web app. It generates images, can assist in editing objects, create text-to-visuals for graphics and video, and more.
Don't see the AI tool you need?
The generative AI tools above are the approved AI tools in place across the enterprise licensing environment; this doesn't mean that you can't request to purchase or use other AI tools or applications not listed here on an individual basis.
If you have an existing AI tool in use that you've not previously requested approval for, or if you'd like to get started with a new AI tool, please complete a Technology Procurement Request and provide information about the type of work you perform and the types of data you may be working with within the tool.