Campus AI Tools
AI at University of Houston-Downtown brings secure, campus-supported tools that help students, faculty, and staff work smarter, learn faster, and create with confidence -- when used thoughtfully.
The following tools qualify as campus-supported AI tools. These tools have been vetted for data protection.
| AI Tool | Description | Data Protection |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat (Free) | A secure (when logged in), AI-powered chat experience that helps users ask questions, brainstorm, and generate content using web-based knowledge and limited work context within a conversational interface. Do NOT use the free consumer version for UHD work. When you login you will see a shield in the upper right letting you know your data is being protected. |
Protects your data with enterprise-grade security and permissions, ensuring your prompts and content are not used to train public AI models and only access data you explicitly provide. Do NOT use the free consumer version for UHD work. When you login you will see a shield in the upper right letting you know your data is being protected. |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot (Paid by Department for Faculty and Staff only - coming soon) |
An AI -powered productivity assistant embedded across Microsoft 365 apps that uses your organizational data to provide context-aware insights and content creation directly within everyday work tools like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook, and Teams.
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Protects your data by enforcing Microsoft 365 security, compliance, and permission models -- only accessing and generating insights from organizational data you already have access rights to, within a secure, enterprise-controlled environment. |
| Google Gemini (coming soon) | A multimodal AI assistant that helps users research, write, and automate tasks by integrating across Google services like Gmail, Docs, and Calendar to provide context-aware support. | Protects your data through Google Workspace security controls, access permissions, and encryption, ensuring organizational data stays within your tenant and is not used to train models in enterprise environments. |
| Google Notebook LM (coming soon) | An AI-powered research and note-taking assistant that analyzes and suammarizes your uploaded documents, providing answers grounded in your own sources with clear citations. | Protects your data by keeping your uploaded sources private, using them only within your notebook context, and not using Workspace or enterprise data to train models. |
| Ask Ed Chatbot (Available to UHD Departments) | A web-based AI chatbot embedded on institutional websites that provides 24/7 answers to common questions and directs users to the right information or services in real time. Email the IT Service Desk at itservicedesk@uhd.edu to learn more about creating a chatbot for your department. | Protects user data through enterprise security standards and controlled access with encryption and data isolation to ensure only authorized systems and administrators can view any submitted information. |
Responsible Use of UHD AI Tools:
✅ - Protect Sensitive Data - Do not enter confidential, sensitive, or student-identifiable information. (Please review UH System Policy on Data Classification and Protection)
✅ - Check for Approval - Not all AI tools are secure or compliant. Campus AI tools have been vetted and when used properly, provide data protection for organizational data.
✅ - Review Outputs - Content generated by AI can be biased or innacurate. Always fact-check results and ask for sources you can verify.
✅ - Apply Professional Judgment - Generative AI should support, not replace expertise and professional judgment.
✅ - Seek Training - Even intuitive tools work better with support. Seek training opportunities for your AI tool of choice. LinkedIn is a good place to start.