Copilot is appearing more often across Microsoft apps, which has led to questions about access and expectations. This piece explains the difference between Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot, how licensing works, and why visibility doesn’t change responsibility.

Many edits to AI-generated content repeat themselves: tone, length, structure, and caution. This article shows where you can set those preferences in Outlook, Copilot Chat, and ChatGPT Edu so drafts start closer to what you want.

Some campus conversations about AI are less about tools and more about how decisions are made. This feature highlights recent episodes of Tippie Leads, a campus podcast that looks at leadership, communication, and organizational choices where AI plays a role.

For many tasks, work begins with reading a webpage. Copilot in Microsoft Edge is changing that first step. This piece explains what Copilot in Edge can and can’t access at Iowa, why those limits exist, and when it makes sense to use it before moving to other tools.

AI makes it easy to ask for another version. At some point, that stops improving the result and starts adding extra steps. This article looks at how to notice when prompting is no longer helping and how to decide when it’s time to move on.

The shift is designed to deliver a more responsive, intuitive, and streamlined experience for faculty, staff, and students submitting IT service requests or reporting technical issues.

This edition of AI Lightning Talks brings together campus leaders to share short examples of how AI shows up in their day-to-day work. The one-hour virtual session focuses on concrete experiences and reflections, not prescriptions, across areas like communication, decision-making, and local experimentation. Tuesday, Feb. 3, from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. CT. Live captions will be available, and all faculty and staff are welcome.

Custom GPTs in ChatGPT Edu allow faculty and staff to create reusable, task-focused AI assistants. External sharing is now available, making it possible to share a custom GPT beyond the university environment. This article explains what custom GPTs are, how sharing works, and what to review before making one available more broadly.

January offers an opportunity to start fresh and improve habits that keep our university secure. By using strong passwords, multi-factor authentication, and good credential hygiene, we can help protect everything we do at the university.

Brad Rohrer, vice president for information technology and chief academic and research information officer at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, has been named chief information officer and associate vice president at the University of Iowa. He will begin on Feb. 23.