Generative AI is showing up in more day-to-day work, but many people still want a clearer foundation before they use it more often. This article lays out five things worth understanding early, including what generative AI is actually doing, where it helps, where it can mislead, and why responsible use still matters. It also points readers to the new Generative AI 101: Foundations and Use Cases training for faculty and staff.

Starting April 15, 2026, there will be an update to how Copilot Chat appears in some Microsoft 365 apps. The change affects in-app access, not whether people can continue using Copilot Chat in the web-based Copilot interface. No action is required. Outlook is not affected, and users with the elevated Microsoft 365 Copilot license are not impacted.

Sometimes phishing messages don’t come from unfamiliar senders. In some cases, criminals gain access to a vendor’s system and use it to send convincing messages that may reference a real project, invoice, or document request. Learn how to identify and protect yourself from these advanced phishing attempts.

AI is very good at making rough ideas sound finished. That is not always the same as making them better. This article shows a more useful way to work with AI: ask it to question assumptions, point out weak spots, and read like a careful reviewer instead of a tool that just cleans things up and sends you on your way.

Sometimes the answer is yes. Sometimes a chat-based tool already covers most of what you need. This piece looks at where a paid license tends to make the biggest difference, where it may not change much, and how to judge the fit based on the way your work actually happens across Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, and other Microsoft 365 tools.

This month’s AI User Group features Eddie T. Etsey, Associate Athletics Director, Technology & Data Analytics and Women’s Tennis Administrator. The session will focus on how AI, data, analytics, and decision-making come together in Athletics, followed by time for questions and discussion. The session is scheduled for Thursday, April 9, 2026, from 10 to 11 a.m. on Microsoft Teams.

A document has been shared with you! You have a new message! A common phishing technique is to create fake notifications that look like legitimate alerts from a system, voicemail service, or collaboration tool. Learn how to spot these phishing messages before you click that new notification.

Privacy questions around AI usually come up in the middle of everyday work. This article looks at three common situations and offers a way to think about tool choice, sensitive information, and when it makes sense to pause before using AI.