Website: https://copilot.microsoft.com/
Uses: Generates text, code, and images using ChatGPT and DALL-E. Includes links to some web resources.
Cost: Free through UT
Access: Log in with your UT Microsoft 365 account (@austin.utexas.edu) and then your EID to access the UT-Austin licensed version of CoPilot.
User Privacy: When using CoPilot licensed through UT, your prompts and responses are not retained by Microsoft or used to train AI models, and your information is encrypted. It is not currently approved for use with confidential university data (e.g., FERPA, HIPAA, PCI, IRB).
Additional information: UT Microsoft 365 AI page.
Website: https://gemini.google.com/
Uses: Generates text, images and code.
Cost: Free through UT with your UT Mail Google for Education account (your utexas.edu account)
Access: Make sure you are logged into your utexas account and navigate to the Gemini page.
User Privacy: When using GoogleGemini with your utexas (Google for Education) account, your data is protected. It is not currently approved for use with confidential university data (e.g., FERPA, HIPAA, PCI, IRB).
Additional information: https://tech.utexas.edu/initiatives/artificial-intelligence
Website: https://sage.eta.its.utexas.edu/
UT Sage is a virtual instructional designer and AI tutor developed at UT. Instructors may create a UT Sage tutor for their course or content using their course materials to train the tutor. Students then interact with the tutor as they would any AI chatbot.
Additional information: UT Sage
Website: https://spark.utexas.edu/
Uses: UT’s all-in-one AI platform includes a chatbots and specialized agents. Ability to build your own agents is coming soon.
Cost: Free for students, faculty and staff.
Access: Sign in with your UT Microsoft account.
User Privacy: Your data is not used to train AI models or shared with vendors. It is stored at UT. See the UT Spark Usage & Data Privacy Guide.
Additional information: UT Spark Training and Documentation
As we consider how to engage with AI, it is important to understand that it appears in many tools used to do research. In some cases, you have to opt in and in others, it appears automatically.
Faculty and instructors should consider this when creating policies and guidelines about AI for their courses.
Selected library databases:
EBSCO: Many EBSCO databases have a beta feature called Generate AI Insights available in search results. This feature generates takeaways from the source.
Factiva: Use the "Switch Factiva" option to toggle between a regular search and a search incorporating an AI generated "smart summary."
Gale Cengage: Many databases from this vendor incorporate AI in their topic finder tool.
JSTOR: AI generated summaries of articles are available in beta and users can request to participate in this beta version of JSTOR.
Medline (Clarivate): Users can toggle Smart Search. Features include natural language searches.
ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global: The Research Assistant suggest keywords on the search results screen, and offers key takeaways and more when clicking into the record for a thesis or dissertation.
ScienceDirect: AI is used in the Topic Pages and Questions Answered in this Article feature.
Statista: a feature called Research AI is available from the search page.
Web of Science: Users can toggle Smart Search. Features include natural language searches.
Worldcat: A book recommender is available when you view the record for an item.
Increasingly, other library vendors are incorporating generative AI features into their tools so we expect this list to grow.
Like all LLM summaries, the output of these tools draws from a limited scope of information and has a tendency to contain biases. All summaries should be read critically and should not be viewed as a total replacement of engaging with the literature. These tools are owned by private companies and collect user data.
Privacy note: These tools are owned by private companies and collect user data.
ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini: conversational chatbots that generate text, code, images and more. Access directly. Gemini also powers AI summaries in Google searches.
Llama: generates text and code. Access directly through meta.ai or download and run locally.
Other LLMs: A more comprehensive list from Ithaka S+R.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Generic License.