Eligibility

For the Ithaca-supported campuses and Cornell Tech, access begins in November for faculty, staff, PhD, JSD and DMA students, with master’s students and undergraduates (18 years of age or older) to follow in early 2027.  

Because Weill Cornell Medicine operates in a distinct clinical, research, regulatory, privacy, and security environment, it will establish its own phased implementation plans, eligibility criteria, permitted uses, training requirements, and safeguards. Details are being finalized and will be communicated separately. Until then, members of the Weill Cornell Medicine community should continue to follow existing institutional policies and approved-tool guidance.

ChatGPT Chat

ChatGPT Chat chat mirrors a public ChatGPT subscription, but with enterprise security, as well as data protections and privacy through a contract negotiated specifically for the Cornell community. If you use ChatGPT for Cornell-related business, you must use ChatGPT Chat to enjoy these protections.

ChatGPT Work

ChatGPT Work can use your files, plugins, and approved tools to retrieve information, create finished files, run workflows, and complete work that is ready for you to review. Learn more here.

Codex

Codex is OpenAI’s AI coding agent that helps you build software by writing, reviewing, and debugging code, working directly with your project files and development tools. Learn more about this tool at OpenAI.

Data and Use Limitations

ChatGPT is expected to be approved for low- and moderate-risk data, with specific limitations for FERPA and international personal data (login required). (More guidance will be available in November.)

Fees and Billing

You will use ChatGPT tools under Cornell's account which is expected to meet most individual needs. Faculty and staff will have the option to upgrade to discounted versions of ChatGPT Pro at $100/month (compared to $200/month retail).

If you have questions about refunds for personal accounts, please refer to OpenAI's help article.

If you have a documented need for additional account limits, contact the AI Strategy, Enablement & Innovation team to discuss your options. 

How to Create your ChatGPT Account

Access to Cornell's ChatGPT accounts is expected to start in November 2026. To claim your ChatGPT account, you will need to complete the AI Tool Onboarding designed by the AI Strategy, Enablement & Innovation team. Once you complete the course, you will receive an email from OpenAI with instructions to activate your account within approximately 24 hours. 

Once the AI Tool Onboarding is available, instructions to set up your ChatGPT account will be shared on IT@Cornell.

Plugins

Plugins that connect to other apps (such as Microsoft 365 or Google) are currently under review. 

Learn to Use ChatGPT 

Self-paced learning resources are available below:

• OpenAI, LLMs & ChatGPT (05:34)
• Multimodality Explained (10:24)
• Introduction to Prompt Engineering (05:52)
• Introduction to GPTs (06:40)
• ChatGPT Search (05:43)
• Advanced Prompt Engineering (08:50)
• ChatGPT for Data Analysis (04:48)

Responsible Use of AI

All members of the Cornell community that use AI tools are expected to use AI responsibly and in accordance with the university's policies and procedures.