New AI tools are released daily and AI components are being added to existing tools on an ongoing basis. University technology teams evaluate these tools to ensure they are accessible, secure and effective. Students should use GenAI tools only with the explicit permission of each instructor, in the ways allowed by that instructor.
Security and Institutional Data
The tools listed here are approved for university faculty and staff, but not for medical center employees due to different security requirements. Please consult medical center IT before using AI tools for any business purposes.
Faculty and staff should ensure they are logged in with their university credentials if they plan to enter above S1-classified data into an approved AI tool. Learn more about institutional data classifications as they relate to AI in the "Security and Privacy Statement on Artificial Intelligence".
AI Tools Directory
Microsoft Copilot and Adobe Creative Cloud are available to Ohio State users and offer a variety of AI functions as described below. In addition, many of us are taking advantage of AI features in existing tools once they have been vetted. For more technical users, Azure, Amazon Web Platform, and Google Cloud Platform offer more options for using AI.
Ohio State does NOT have a contract with OpenAI for use of the ChatGPT chatbot; however, ChatGPT technology can be accessed through Azure as an Open Source Model.
| Approved AI Tools | Cloud Computing Platforms | Tools with AI Components |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Copilot | Ohio State AWS | CarmenCanvas AI Tools |
| Adobe Creative Suite | Ohio State Azure | CarmenZoom AI Tools |
| Ohio State Google Cloud Platform | SalesForce Marketing Cloud (Einstein) |
Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft has multiple, similar AI applications on the market that are branded as "Microsoft Copilot." The version approved for use is Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat. Note that different Copilot products are approved for different level of institutional data. If you need guidance for what types of data can be entered into the version of Copilot you are using, consult the Cloud Assessment Registry. Learn about and access training on using Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot by visiting the Administrative Resource Center.
- Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat (choose "Try Copilot Chat" in the upper right corner) is available to faculty, staff and students. Chat now allows file uploads so you can add any document to the chat and ask Copilot to do things like summarize key points in a Word document, analyze data in an Excel spreadsheet, and suggest improvements to a PowerPoint presentation. With Copilot Pages, you can collaborate on content with people and AI in real time—adding content from Copilot, your files, and the web. Using natural language, now anyone can easily create agents to automate repetitive tasks and business processes—directly in Copilot Chat. This version of Copilot is approved for S4 data and below.
- Microsoft 365 Copilot (log in then choose the Copilot icon in the left-side menu) interacts with Microsoft 365 applications, emails, and files stored to OneDrive for a more personalized experience. Licenses can be purchased by departments on an annual basis by following the instructions posted in the Administrative Resource Center (ARC). Microsoft 365 Copilot is approved for S4 data. Users can attend meetings of Club Copilot, a Microsoft EDU community focused entirely on Copilot for Microsoft 365, to learn to use the tool effectively.
Adobe
- Adobe Express is a free, all-in-one creative tool for Ohio State students, faculty, and staff, ideal for designing social media posts, flyers, videos, and more. It features templates, AI tools like "Text to Image" and "Generative Fill," and social media integration. Accessible via web or mobile app, you can log in online or download from Self Service on university devices. Log in online or download the app from Self Service on university-managed devices. Adobe Express utilizes Firefly, Adobe's generative AI engine.
- Adobe Creative Cloud provides a suite of professional creative tools for students, including Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and Illustrator. View information here to find where this software is available for free, and how to obtain it for professional use for teaching, learning, research and work purposes at Ohio State. Adobe Creative Cloud utilizes Firefly, Adobe's generative AI engine.
- Adobe Firefly is a creative generative AI engine that is included in Adobe Creative Cloud and Adobe Express. Available as a stand-alone app, Firefly generates images, edits objects, and transforms text. Its AI models also enhance Adobe's flagship apps and Adobe Stock.
- Adobe Acrobat Pro is free for faculty and staff and can be used for creating, editing, and managing PDFs, with advanced features like accessibility checks.
Cloud Computing Platforms
Ohio State AWS
Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides secure, scalable cost-effective computing, storage, and database services that faculty and staff can use for things like AI development, research projects, web application hosting, archival file storage and administrative Business Intelligence/analytics. For a detailed and up-to-date list of AWS's AI services and models, you can visit their AI Services page. AWS has introduced the Amazon Nova series, a new generation of foundation models optimized for various tasks, including content generation and video understanding. Ohio State has an additional vendor agreement to enable you to use additional models that are available through Amazon Bedrock - such as Claude 2 from Anthropic, Stable Diffusion from Stability AI, Jurassic-2 from AI21 Studio, and Amazon Titan. For a complete list of models, visit AWS’s AI Services page.
Ohio State Azure
Ohio State Azure is a private and public cloud platform that provides a set of services that allow you to build, manage and deploy AI and traditional applications on a massive, global network using your favorite tools and frameworks. Azure Open AI Service is powered by a diverse set of models with different capabilities. You can access additional models using Azure AI Foundry, a unified AI application platform to help businesses leverage AI and generative AI technologies. Open service models include several products from ChatGPT, as well as DALL-E and Whisper. Visit Microsoft’s site for more details about Azure Open Service Models available in Azure.
Ohio State Google Cloud Platform
Google Cloud Platform offers secure, scalable, and cost-effective solutions tailored for university business. From research projects and web hosting to file storage and advanced analytics, GCP empowers innovation with cutting-edge tools. Several legal- and privacy-compliant third party models are accessible via GCP, including Vertex AI, GCP's unified machine learning platform that enables you to build, deploy, and scale ML models. It features a growing list of foundation models that you can test, deploy, and customize for use in your AI-based applications. GCP provides access to a variety of pre-trained AI models such as as Imagen, Gemini, and PaLM. For a complete, up-to-date list of GCP’s AI models and services, you can visit their GCP'S AI Models page.
More Approved Tools that Incorporate Generative AI
CarmenCanvas AI Tools
- The Discussion Summary option allows an instructor to request a summary of a particular discussion thread. Instructors may also ask specific questions about the thread's content. Currently, there is a limit of 25 summary generations per user per day. This feature is only visible to the instructor role.
- The Smart Search feature can be enabled as a feature option. Smart Search provides a page where users can enter keywords that return pages in the course that are directly or indirectly relevant. Instructors can then make Smart Search available to the entire course or leave it in the "hidden" area of the course navigation to limit access to instructional staff.
CarmenZoom AI Tools
- Zoom AI Companion: Zoom's AI digital assistant, delivers real-time capabilities to help users improve productivity and work together more effectively.
- Live Transcription: CarmenZoom provides speech-to-text transcription during meetings using AI and machine learning.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC) - Einstein
SFMC is a marketing automation platform that is used for email marketing. content creation and contact management. Einstein uses AI to help you best evaluate and implement marketing activities within SFMC.
The Ohio Supercomputer Center
Some more extensive projects may be aided by resources provide by our partners at the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC). If you believe OSC services are appropriate for your project, work with your IT support to begin discussions and to develop a plan to partner with them.
Additional Tools
Ohio State is currently evaluating additional tools that incorporate generative AI; this page will be updated as more tools are approved. Students should use GenAI tools only with the explicit permission of each instructor, in the ways allowed by that instructor. The tools listed here are approved for faculty and staff, but not for medical center employees due to different security requirements. Please consult medical center IT before using AI tools for any business purposes.
Have questions?
Have questions on how generative AI tools get approved or want to submit a tool for approval? Reach out to the Office of Technology and Digital Innovation's Digital Security and Trust team at otdi-dst@osu.edu.