Custom AI assistants can turn frequently used prompts, instructions, and reference materials into reusable tools. Instead of explaining the same task every time you begin a new conversation, you can create an assistant that already understands its purpose, preferred response style, and common workflows.
At the University of Iowa, three options are currently available for creating these reusable assistants: Copilot Chat Agents, Microsoft 365 Copilot Agents, and ChatGPT Edu Custom GPTs. Although they serve similar purposes, their knowledge sources, advanced capabilities, licensing requirements, and sharing options differ.
Copilot Chat Agents: Accessible and easy to share across campus
Copilot Chat Agents are available through the university’s Microsoft Copilot Chat environment. They allow users to create custom assistants by providing a name, description, instructions, and suggested prompts. No programming experience is required.
A Copilot Chat Agent could be designed to:
- Draft communications using a consistent tone.
- Answer frequently asked questions.
- Direct users to university resources and websites.
- Create outlines, summaries, charts, images, or basic code.
- Guide users through a repeatable process.
Copilot Chat Agents can also reference a limited number of publicly accessible websites. Because these agents do not have access to the creator’s OneDrive or SharePoint documents without the elevated Microsoft 365 Copilot license, they are best suited for assistants that rely on instructions, stored prompts, public web information, and general AI capabilities. Interested users can register for Copilot Chat Agents training for guided instruction.
For example, a department could create an agent that helps employees draft event announcements, follows the department’s preferred writing style, and directs users to publicly available university resources.
Microsoft 365 Copilot Agents: Grounded in your Microsoft 365 information
Microsoft 365 Copilot Agents provide the same foundational customization options while adding the ability to reference content stored in Microsoft 365. Microsoft 365 Copilot is an optional, elevated license available to faculty and staff for an additional cost.
Depending on how an agent is configured, its knowledge sources may include:
- OneDrive files and folders.
- SharePoint files and document libraries.
- SharePoint sites and pages.
- Public websites.
- Instructions and example prompts supplied by the creator.
These connections make Microsoft 365 Copilot Agents particularly useful when an assistant needs to answer questions from a defined collection of documents. For instance, a department could create an onboarding assistant grounded in its approved procedures, training documents, and SharePoint resources. Like Copilot Chat Agents, Microsoft 365 Copilot Agents can also support tools such as web search, image generation, and code interpretation when those capabilities are enabled.
The Microsoft 365 Copilot license also provides access to SharePoint Agents. These assistants can be built directly into a SharePoint site and grounded in information available through that site. A SharePoint Agent might help employees locate procedures, understand departmental resources, or find information across a large document library.
ChatGPT Edu Custom GPTs: Flexible assistants with advanced tools
A Custom GPT is a reusable version of ChatGPT Edu configured for a specific audience or task. Creators can define its behavior, add detailed instructions, provide conversation starters, upload approved knowledge files, and enable supported tools. ChatGPT Edu is an optional, elevated license available to faculty and staff for an additional cost.
Custom GPTs can be useful for:
- Answering questions using uploaded reference materials.
- Supporting onboarding or training.
- Drafting standardized communications.
- Summarizing or analyzing information.
- Guiding users through multi-step processes.
- Working with data, documents, or code.
ChatGPT Edu includes capabilities such as file uploads, data analysis, web browsing, and Custom GPT creation. This can make Custom GPTs a strong option when a project needs flexible support for uploaded knowledge files or more advanced analysis capabilities outside Microsoft 365.
Understanding how agent sharing works
By default, a newly created agent or Custom GPT is available only to its creator. Sharing must be configured intentionally, and creators should select the most restrictive setting that still meets the needs of their intended audience.
Sharing Copilot Chat Agents
A Copilot Chat Agent can be shared with specific people at the university by entering their names in the sharing settings. The creator can then send those users the agent’s link.
The creator may also make the agent available to anyone within the University of Iowa. However, intended users still need the agent’s sharing link to find and add it. Copilot Chat Agents are intended for internal university sharing, and users must sign in with their University of Iowa HawkID and password to access them.
Sharing Microsoft 365 Copilot Agents
Microsoft 365 Copilot Agents follow similar sharing options, but additional requirements apply when the agent references OneDrive or SharePoint content.
To successfully use a shared agent, a recipient must have:
- Access to the agent through its sharing settings.
- An elevated Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
- Permission to access every OneDrive file, SharePoint document, library, or site referenced by the agent.
Sharing an agent does not automatically grant access to its underlying documents or other knowledge sources. If a recipient does not have the required license or source permissions, the agent will either be unavailable or provide incomplete or unexpected responses.
Before distributing an agent, creators should test it using an account with permissions similar to those of the intended audience.
Sharing ChatGPT Edu Custom GPTs
Custom GPTs can be shared with specific members of the University of Iowa ChatGPT Edu workspace. These options are generally the best choice when the GPT is intended for a university audience.
Custom GPTs may also be shared externally using the “Anyone with the link” option. In that case, individuals outside the university can access the GPT, and the creator cannot control who receives the link after it has been shared. Learn more about external sharing for ChatGPT Edu Custom GPTs.
This distinction is especially important when selecting knowledge sources.
A publicly shared Custom GPT should use only information approved for public distribution. University-internal information should remain in a private or internally shared GPT and only be available to authorized university users.
Do not include university-internal documents, procedures, or other nonpublic information in a Custom GPT intended for public sharing. Before enabling external sharing, review the GPT from the perspective of someone outside the university and select the most restrictive sharing option that supports the use case.
Choosing the right option
Choose Copilot Chat Agents when you need an assistant based primarily on custom instructions, repeatable prompts, general AI tools, or public websites and when the agent will be shared only with University of Iowa users who sign in with their HawkID and password.
Choose Microsoft 365 Copilot Agents when the assistant needs to work with approved OneDrive or SharePoint content. This option is best when intended users also have the required Microsoft 365 Copilot license, access to the shared agent, and permission to view the referenced files or sites.
Choose ChatGPT Edu Custom GPTs when you need flexible support for uploaded knowledge files, analysis tools, or broader sharing options. Custom GPTs can be shared in the University of Iowa ChatGPT Edu workspace or externally—provided that publicly shared GPTs use only information approved for public distribution.
Regardless of the tool, test the assistant thoroughly, verify its responses, and periodically review its knowledge sources and sharing settings to ensure they remain accurate and appropriate for the intended audience.
For assistance selecting, building, or sharing an agent, contact the AI Support Team at ITS-AISupportTeam@uiowa.edu. If you want to stay up to date on what is happening with AI at the University of Iowa, subscribe to the AI at Iowa newsletter.