What AI tools are being made available by the university?

Cornell is expanding access to ChatGPT Edu, Claude Enterprise, Gemini, and Copilot along with other AI-related resources and services. These tools offer a range of capabilities, from content creation and data analysis to research support, coding assistance, and ways to streamline tasks.

Broad access helps ensure that all members of the Cornell community have opportunities to examine how these technologies can impact their work, studies, teaching, and research.

As part of this effort, Cornell has established pilots with providers to support a period of learning, experimentation, and evaluation across the university. Access is being introduced through a phased rollout, with different tools and user groups becoming eligible at different times throughout 2026 and early 2027. This approach allows Cornell to gather feedback, identify effective use cases, expand training and support resources, and incorporate lessons learned as use grows.

Cornell has intentionally adopted a multi-vendor AI ecosystem to give the community meaningful choice. No single AI model or platform is best for every task, discipline, or use case. By providing access to multiple tools, Cornell enables individuals and teams to determine whether and when a tool will support their work, including in teaching, learning, and research.

For the most current list of available AI tools, including details on eligibility, access, approved uses, training resources, privacy protections, and university guidance, please refer to Tools and Guidelines and Resources.

When will access be available?

For the Ithaca-supported campuses and Cornell Tech, access begins in November for faculty, staff, and Ph.D. students, with master’s students and undergraduates to follow in early 2027.

Eligible faculty, students, and staff can request a base level of use for all tools at no cost, and faculty, staff, and teams will have the option to purchase additional capacity at a discounted rate. Free access to a limited number of licenses for Google’s agentic AI tools for research use will follow in spring. While a release date is not yet finalized, Weill Cornell Medicine is planning a phased release of Claude for use cases that do not involve protected health information.

This phased approach allows Cornell to expand access thoughtfully while providing training and support, gathering community feedback, and incorporating lessons learned as use grows across the university. It also supports Cornell's ability to evaluate how AI tools can best support teaching, learning, research, and operations while informing future decisions about AI investments, governance, and support.

For the latest information on availability, eligibility, and rollout timelines, visit the Tools and Guidelines and Resources pages.

Is training available? What support resources are available if I need help? How can I learn more about using AI responsibly?

Yes. Cornell offers a growing range of training, learning opportunities, and support resources to help faculty, staff, and students build AI skills and use AI tools effectively and responsibly.

Resources include the AI Critical Literacy Program, the AI Exploration Series, tool-specific training, selected eCornell offerings, and educational materials from trusted learning platforms and AI providers. Community members can also connect with peers, exchange ideas, and share lessons learned through communities of practice, Teams channels, and other collaborative forums.

Coming soon: Cornell will expand its offerings with additional workshops, demonstrations, office hours, and hands-on training sessions, including tool-specific deep dives and role-based learning opportunities.

Visit the Cornell AI Initiative Training page for the latest resources, events, and support opportunities.

Why are AI tools being rolled out to undergraduate and master's students in January?

Cornell is taking a phased approach to expanding access to AI tools across the university. This approach allows the university to thoughtfully scale services, incorporate lessons learned, develop training and support resources, and ensure users have a positive experience as new tools are introduced.

Why is the university providing access to AI tools?

Faculty, students, and staff are already bringing AI tools purchased on consumer licenses to campus. These licenses have terms that create substantial risks to privacy, security, loss of intellectual property, and security.

By providing university-supported AI tools, Cornell has been able to negotiate institutional pricing, privacy and security safeguards, and contractual protections that are not available through individual consumer subscriptions. Institution-wide access also helps promote equitable participation by ensuring that advanced AI capabilities are available to the broader Cornell community, rather than only to those who can afford individual subscriptions. It also helps ensure that all faculty, staff, and students, regardless of role, discipline, or technical background, have the opportunity to explore how these technologies can enhance their teaching, learning, research, and work, while engaging with AI in ways that are secure, responsible, and aligned with university values. Through individual experimentation, community-wide training opportunities, and novel application and iteration, our campus community can gain deeper understanding of how to mitigate AI risks and how to take advantage of new opportunities.

How do I sign up or activate my account?

Access to Cornell-supported AI tools is being introduced through a phased rollout. Eligible faculty, staff, and students will be invited to participate as tools become available to their user group. If you would like to receive updates about upcoming AI tool availability, rollout announcements, and training opportunities, sign up here.

Once your group is eligible:

Step 1: Request access.

Submit a request for the AI tool(s) you would like to use. Requests will be reviewed based on the tool, your role, and the current phase of the rollout.

Step 2: Complete training and orientation.

Before receiving access, you must complete an online, self-paced onboarding program. This should take approximately 45 minutes and is designed to help you understand tool capabilities, privacy and security considerations, responsible AI use, and university guidelines.

Step 3: Activate your account.

Once you have completed the training and orientation, you will receive an email with instructions for activating your account, downloading any necessary applications, and getting started.

Who is eligible to use Cornell tools?

Cornell is offering eligible faculty, staff, and students the opportunity to opt in to university-supported AI tools, with access being rolled out in phases based on tool availability and user groups. For the Ithaca-supported campuses and Cornell Tech, access begins in November for faculty, staff, and Ph.D. students, with master’s students and undergraduates to follow in early 2027.

Eligible faculty, students, and staff can request a base level of use for all tools at no cost, and faculty, staff, and teams will have the option to purchase additional capacity at a discounted rate. Free access to a limited number of licenses for Google’s agentic AI tools for research use will follow in spring. While a release date is not yet finalized, Weill Cornell Medicine is planning a phased release of Claude in the coming weeks for use cases that do not involve protected health information.

During the pilot, the university will gather feedback, assess how different tools are being used across teaching, learning, research, and operations, and identify opportunities to enhance the user experience, expand support and training resources, and inform future access decisions. Insights and feedback from participants will help shape decisions about training, support, governance, and future investments in AI capabilities.

How much does access to Cornell supported AI tools cost?

Cornell has negotiated institutional agreements with leading AI providers to make advanced AI tools available to the university community at a significantly lower cost than individual subscriptions and with additional privacy, security, and contractual protections.

Providing institution-wide access helps ensure that the benefits of AI are not limited to those who can afford individual subscriptions. It also allows Cornell to secure privacy protections, security safeguards, and contractual terms that are generally not available through consumer AI offerings.

Cornell's current AI tool pilots are designed to support learning, experimentation, and feedback across the university. During this period, Cornell will assess community needs, usage patterns, and the value of different tools to help inform future investments, access models, and support resources.

Costs, eligibility, and available tools vary by platform and user group. For the latest information about tool availability, eligibility, and any applicable costs, refer to the Tools page.

What are the environmental impacts of AI, and how is Cornell approaching them?

AI has the potential to make important contributions to sustainability research and practice, including efforts related to climate change, food security, agriculture, energy systems, and resource management. At the same time, AI technologies can require significant computing power, which increases energy consumption and raises important questions about environmental sustainability.

Cornell recognizes both the opportunities and challenges associated with AI. As the university expands access to AI tools, it is also encouraging thoughtful consideration of their environmental impacts alongside their benefits for teaching, learning, research, and operations.

The university's Sustainable Computing Workgroup, which includes faculty, staff, and students, is examining the sustainability implications of computing technologies, including AI. The group will help track AI's impact on energy use, identify emerging challenges and opportunities, and provide recommendations to support responsible and sustainable adoption.

Learn more at the Cornell AI Initiative sustainability page.

What guidance is available for using AI at Cornell?

Cornell provides guidance to help faculty, staff, and students use AI tools responsibly, securely, and in alignment with university policies and expectations.

The university maintains a centralized collection of AI-related policies, guidelines, standards, and best practices, including information about data privacy, security, responsible use, academic considerations, and approved tools. These resources are designed to help community members make informed decisions about when and how to use AI, understand potential risks and limitations, and apply AI effectively within their specific roles, disciplines, and responsibilities.

If you are unsure whether a particular use of AI is appropriate, consult the relevant guidance and reach out to your supervisor, instructor, department, local IT support team, or other appropriate university resource for assistance.

Can information I enter into Cornell-supported AI tools be used to train AI models?

No. Information entered into Cornell-supported AI tools is not used to train the underlying AI models.

Cornell has negotiated agreements with approved enterprise AI providers that include enhanced privacy and data protection safeguards. Cornell-supported AI tools are designed to provide stronger privacy and security protections than publicly available AI services. These protections help support the use of AI tools for university teaching, learning, research, and operations work while aligning with Cornell's data management and security requirements.

However, privacy and security protections do not eliminate the need for good judgment. Users should to follow Cornell policies and data handling requirements when using AI tools. While Cornell-supported tools include additional protections, users remain responsible for handling university information appropriately and should follow university policies and requirements when working with confidential, regulated, proprietary, or otherwise sensitive data.

Public AI tools are different. Even if you are paying a subscription to a public tool the data is still at risk. Unless specifically reviewed and approved by Cornell, information entered into publicly available AI services may be stored, retained, or used by the provider in ways that differ from university-supported tools. Do not enter confidential, proprietary, regulated, restricted, or another person's sensitive information into public AI tools.

If you are unsure whether a tool is approved for university use or whether specific data may be entered into a tool, consult Cornell's AI guidance and data handling policies before proceeding.

Can Cornell see my chats or prompts in university-provided AI tools?

No. Your chats, prompts, files, and generated content are not routinely monitored or reviewed by Cornell. Unauthorized access to user content is not permitted.

As noted on the University Privacy site, Cornell strives to honor the Privacy Principles (NetID required): Lawfulness, Fairness, and Transparency; Accountability and Stewardship; Purpose Limitation; Storage Limitation; Data Minimization; Accuracy; Individual Choice and Control; Security.

How do I report a concern about the use of AI at the university?

Cornell encourages community members to raise questions or concerns about the use of AI.

For general questions, feedback, or concerns related to university AI initiatives, you can contact the Cornell AI Initiative at ai-initiative@cornell.edu.

If your concern involves potential violations of university policy or law, including issues related to privacy, security, discrimination, academic integrity, misuse of data, research compliance, or other ethical concerns, you are encouraged to speak with your supervisor, department leadership, or Human Resources representative when appropriate.

Concerns may also be reported through Cornell's compliance and ethics reporting resources, including the Cornell Ethics and Compliance Hotline which allows individuals to report ethics, integrity, or compliance concerns confidentially or anonymously.

Can I connect AI tools to Microsoft 365, Google Drive, Box, SharePoint, Canvas, or other university systems?

Connectors and plugin integrations that allow AI tools to access information from other applications and university systems are currently under review. As Cornell evaluates AI platforms and their capabilities, the university is also assessing the privacy, security, data governance, compliance, and user experience implications of connecting AI tools to institutional resources.

Information about approved connectors, supported systems, and any associated requirements will be shared as part of tool rollouts. Guidance will include which connectors are available, who is eligible to use them, what data may be accessed, and any limitations or safeguards that apply.

Until connector reviews are complete and guidance is issued, community members should not assume that AI tools are approved to access Cornell systems such as Microsoft 365, Google Drive, Box, SharePoint, Canvas, or other university resources.

Is AI use required?

Use of Cornell-supported AI tools is generally optional, and community members may decide whether and how AI is appropriate for their teaching, learning, research, or work. Students should talk to their instructor about whether classroom use of AI is expected.

Cornell's current AI tool pilots are designed to support a year of learning, experimentation, and evaluation across the university. During this period, faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to explore AI tools where they may be helpful, while also sharing feedback about when AI adds value, when it does not, and where limitations or concerns exist.

Cornell recognizes that AI is not the right solution for every task, discipline, workflow, or learning objective. Decisions about whether and how to use AI should be guided by professional judgment, disciplinary norms, applicable policies, and individual needs.

Students should follow guidance provided by their instructors and any course-specific policies outlined in the syllabus. Staff should consult with their supervisors and unit leadership regarding appropriate use within their roles and responsibilities. Faculty should consider disciplinary norms, applicable university policies, and any relevant research, teaching, or professional requirements.

Feedback from the community, including both successful use cases and situations where AI is not useful or appropriate, will help inform future decisions about AI tools, training, guidance, and investments.