Generative AI at UVA

Microsoft CoPilot Chat

Microsoft Copilot is a LLM chatbot similar to ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude that allows you to engage with the AI through natural language prompts to do a wide range of tasks. Read more about Copilot Chat (links to a Microsoft page).

A Plethora of Microsoft Copilots

The first point of confusion of all of Microsoft's AI tools is there are an awful lot of Copilots. By some counts, Microsoft has perhaps 116 different Copilot AI tools available, most tailored to specific needs and applications. For instance, there are Copilots integrated into Microsoft applications like Outlook, Word, Powerpoint, Teams, and Excel, to assist with writing or analyzing data and other tasks. These Copilots are available through a Copilot for Microsoft 365 subscription (see below). There’s also Copilot for GitHub, which assists developers by suggesting code snippets and helping with debugging.

Two UVA Licensed Copilots

UVA licenses two major variants of Copilot:

• Copilot Chat (available for free to UVA affiliated users with UVA Academic Microsoft accounts), and
• Copilot for Microsoft 365 (available through an individual subscription to faculty and staff affiliated with any UVA school or unit, except the School of Law and Darden School of Business. Students are not eligible for the UVA version of Copilot for Microsoft 365.). Copilot for Microsoft 365 provides integrated Copilots for Microsoft applications (Excel, Outlook, Teams, Word, etc.). You can learn more about Copilot for Microsoft 365 on this ITS page.

UVA's Licensed Copilot Chat

UVA provides access to an enterprise edition of Copilot Chat and ensures that the tool meets the privacy and security requirements set by the University. We refer to this version as UVA Copilot Chat.

As stated on the ITS website (linked below), the "enterprise version operates within UVA’s secure environment, using data only to generate responses. Your account can only access information for which you have permissions. Data is not retained or used for training AI models." View Microsoft’s Data, Privacy, and Security for Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 documentation (links to a Microsoft page).

Link to UVA ITS Generative AI website - Review Responsible Use Guidelines, and access UVA Copilot Chat

Access to UVA Copilot Chat  

To log into Copilot Chat using your UVA credentials, use UVA ITS page for Generative AI Tools (links to a UVA ITS webpage).

This page also has a useful FAQ if you run into any problems. 

The easiest way to verify that you're using the Pro and protected version of Copilot Chat after you have logged in to your Microsoft 365 account is to check the upper right-hand corner of the page. It should display a green shield containing a check mark, indicating that you are using the UVA Copilot chat, with Enterprise data protection (links to a Microsoft page), as shown in the image below. In addition, you should see your account information in the lower left corner of the page.

Successfully Logging into Copilot Chat 

In the past, ITS has reported some hiccups with logging into the UVA licensed Copilot Chat. If you find after signing in that you don't see green protected icon or your account information, here are our best tips: 

• Clear your browser cache and restart the browser. 
• Contact ITS support for additional help (links to a UVA ITS webpage) - ITS is aware of the past login challenges. The issues appear to be resolved, but ITS can help if they arise for you.