Enterprise AI Tools

Copilot Chat is a conversational support tool available within the Microsoft suite. This tool is available to all faculty, staff, and students at no cost to the user.

Great for:

• Brainstorming
• Breaking down complex topics
• Drafting or rewriting content
• Summarizing uploaded documents
• Explaining technical concepts
• Creating checklists to complete asks 

What information can you use in this tool? 

Any public information or medium risk information that is non-identifiable and/or approved by ITS (internal communications and memos that are not high risk, non-public reports, budgets, plans, financial information, and IT planning or audit logs). 

Frequently Asked Questions

• Does Copilot Chat have access to my SharePoint documents, emails, and calendar?

  No. This version of copilot is a web-based tool that can access the web and analyze uploaded documents, but it is not integrated into your Microsoft suite in a way that it can automatically retrieve your Sharepoint documents, emails, and calendar. 
  

• Is Copilot Chat available within all of the Microsoft suite apps?

  No. Copilot chat is available on the web and with select Microsoft apps, like Teams and Outlook. 
  

Microsoft 365 Copilot is an AI productivity assistant available within the Microsoft suite. For NU faculty and staff, Microsoft 365 Copilot is available at the cost of $16.67 per month ($200 a year). Cost is paid on a yearly basis and renews October 1 of each year. Licenses purchased after October 1 will be prorated for the remaining time. 

Great for anything you can do with Copilot Chat, plus:

• Creating drafts of documents, memos, or outlines within Microsoft Word
• Drafting an email response in Outlook
• Summarizing work documents or long email chains
• Creating a PowerPoint slide from a short prompt
• Identifying trends in excel spreadsheets

What information can you use in this tool? 

Any public information or medium risk information that is non-identifiable and/or approved by ITS ) internal communications and memos that are not high risk, non-public reports, budgets, plans, financial information, and IT planning or audit logs). 

Frequently Asked Questions

• Where and how can I purchase Microsoft 365 Copilot?

  For UNK, UNL, UNO, and UNOP: Microsoft 365 Copilot can be procured through this NU ITS Copilot Support Page. Licenses can only be purchased through a cost center. 
  
  For UNMC: Microsoft 365 Copilot can be procured through this ServiceNow Software/Application Request Form. Licenses can only be purchased through a cost center.

• Is Copilot Chat available within all of the Microsoft suite apps?

  Yes. Microsoft 365 is integrated into all Microsoft suite apps, giving you the ability to pull or summarize content from Microsoft SharePoint/OneDrive or emails. 

ChatGPT is available for faculty, staff, and students at UNK, UNL, UNO, and UNOP at no cost to the user. Due to security limitations, ChatGPT is currently not available as an enterprise tool for UNMC.

Instead of a seat-based model, where a set number of licenses are bought per campus, ChatGPT has moved to a credit-based model, where campuses buy a pool of credits for everyone to use. This is consistent with other Universities that use ChatGPT and aligns with what we are seeing from other AI tool companies.

How does this change your experience?

In the previous model, you had access to most models and features as a part of your account. Many core features had unlimited usage (e.g. chat, web search, GPTs, etc.) while some advanced features had limits on the number of times you could access that feature per month (e.g. deep research, pro models, etc.).

In the new consumption-based model, any faculty, staff, or student that wants a ChatGPT Edu Account will receive the basic core account that contains access to many of the same features (at no cost to the user):

• Models: GPT 5.5 instant and GPT 5.5 Thinking Mini
• 3 Image Generations per 24-hour period
• 5 deep research queries per 24-hour period
• Web Search function
• GPTs
• Canvas Editing tool
• Study mode
• File uploads

Below is a breakdown of features that require additional credits and how many credits they use right now:

• GPT-5.5 Thinking: 10 credits per message
• GPT-5.5 Pro: 50 credits per message
• GPT 5.6 Sol (medium and high): 10 credits per message
• GPT-5.6 Sol Pro: 50 credits per message
• Deep Research: 50 credits per task (outside of the 5 queries per 24-hour period)
• Voice: 5 credits per 1 minute
• Agent Mode: 30 credits per message (unavailable for most currently)
• Codex: Codex Rate Card (unavailable to most currently)

We will be working with campus leadership and liaisons to establish if there will be a set amount of credits provided to faculty and staff to be used toward advanced models and features, and what that amount will be. Until that is identified, users will not have access to advanced features. You will still be able to use the core account features, even if you do not have access to advanced features or if you reach your usage limit.

With a new system comes opportunities to learn. We know many people will need additional credits while using ChatGPT. Frequently over the next 6 months, the Emerging Technologies team will be working with campus leadership and liaisons to analyze credits used to identify the correct allotment of credits per user, in addition to identifying an appropriate billing structure for those that require additional credits. Once a process is determined, we will share it out broadly.

ChatGPT is great for: 

• Brainstorming
• Drafting or editing content
• Turning notes into polished ideas and outputs
• Breaking down tough concepts
• Streamlining workflows and processes through custom GPTs among others

What information can you use in this tool? 

Any public information or medium risk information that is non-identifiable and/or approved by ITS (internal communications and memos that are not high risk, non-public reports, budgets, plans, financial information, and IT planning or audit logs). 

Frequently Asked Questions

• How can I get access to ChatGPT?

  Currently licenses are approved through an application process, allowing NU ITS to evaluate risk of AI use. If licenses are not available on your campus, you have the ability to purchase a ChatGPT EDU license at cost ($18-$20 a license depending on the number of licenses purchased on each campus). 

  Click to Apply

• What features are available in ChatGPT?

  • Custom GPTs
  • Canvas Editor
  • Deep Research
  • Web Search
  • Projects
  • Image Creator
  • Apps
  • Study and Learn mode

Zoom AI companion is an AI assistant within Zoom that helps you run meetings, communicate, and manage follow-ups. It allows you to be present and focus on the conversations you’re having during the meeting instead of focusing on taking notes. 

Great for: 

• Taking notes during a meeting to refer to at a later date
• Identifying and assigning future tasks for participants
• Answering questions and summarizing previous conversations in the Zoom meeting for attendees who arrive late 

What information can you use in this tool? 

Any public information or medium risk information that is non-identifiable and/or approved by ITS (internal communications and memos that are not high risk, non-public reports, budgets, plans, financial information, and IT planning or audit logs). 

Frequently Asked Questions

• What if you're in a meeting using companion and you are not sure it should be enabled or you don't feel comfortable with it being enabled?

  Unlike some tools, AI Companion does not shut off its AI features just by typing “stop” in the chat. There is no easy way to shut off AI Companion during a meeting. The best practice would be to send an individual message to the host and ask them to turn off AI. 
  

• If I'm hosting a meeting and want to use AI Companion, do I need to notify individuals at the start of the meeting and give them an opportunity to say no?

  Best practice is to always be transparent about when and why you’re wanting to use AI; AI companion within Zoom is no different. It is best practice to notify all participants that AI will be used and allow them the opportunity to express if they do or do not feel comfortable having it enabled for the meeting. 

• What if AI Companion is enabled in a meeting and we begin to talk about medium or high-risk content?

  AI Companion can be paused or shut off at any time. If medium or high-risk content comes up, remind everyone that the topic violates NU ITS policy and recommend turning off the AI Companion before you resume discussing, or recommend taking the conversation offline. If you realize this after the meeting ends, simply delete the AI companion summary so it is permanently deleted after 30 days.