Just in time to ring in the giving season, we will soon be offering more AI services for the Stanford University community.
Beginning Dec. 16, all active SUNet ID holders will gain access to an expanded set of free GenAI tools from Microsoft and Google, with for-purchase options and reduced licensing costs for certain Microsoft AI services.
This move will empower faculty, students, and staff with cutting-edge AI capabilities and stay aligned with Stanford's rigorous data security and privacy standards.
While more details will be provided closer to the expansion date, this preview will help you understand what will be available and how our Stanford community can engage with these services.
Adoption strengthened by security and privacy practices
This expansion is powered by our firm data security and privacy positioning. Each of the newly available service options has a corresponding data classification rationale. For more on these match-ups, visit our Responsible AI site and the GenAI Tool Evaluation Matrix.
By connecting our security and privacy policies with vendor management negotiations, Stanford is able to support the varied use cases across campus, within our policies and guidelines.
Note: Be careful not to use tools with Stanford data, unless you are authenticated with your Stanford login. And for each tool, align your usage with Stanford’s data classifications as indicated in the “Data Approval” columns below.
Expanded Microsoft AI services
With Microsoft, we will be able to offer Microsoft Copilot Chat (free, authenticated), Microsoft 365 Copilot (paid, within Stanford’s Microsoft 365 tenant), and Github Copilot (within Cardinal Cloud Github).
| Tool Name | Availability & Purchase Options | Details | Data Approval | How to Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Copilot Chat* | Available starting Free for all active SUNet IDs. | The authenticated version of Microsoft Copilot Chat; formerly known as Bing Chat Enterprise. | Approved for:
| Visit m365.cloud.microsoft/chat and log in with your SUNet ID. |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | Available now, with new reduced rates. |
| Approved for:
The Stanford University Microsoft 365 tenant has been approved (exclusively for the listed in-scope applications) for handling High-Risk and PHI data, based on a security and privacy review. | Available as a browser-based tool, a mobile phone application, and as part of the Office 365 suite of applications. |
| Github Copilot | Available now. Purchase by request; billed monthly in arrears to a departmental PTA. | An AI coding assistant that suggests code completions, functions, and documentation directly in the selected IDE. | Approved for:
| Only approved for use within Cardinal Cloud GitHub and requires an active Cardinal Cloud Azure subscription. |
* Similar to the OpenAI ChatGPT models also available in the Stanford AI Playground for free.
Expanded Google AI services
With Google, we will be making available Google Gemini (free, authenticated) and Google NotebookLM (free, authenticated).
| Tool Name | Availability & Purchase Options | Details | Data Approval | How to Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Gemini* | Available starting Free for all active SUNet IDs. | Free, basic AI chatbot powered by Google Gemini AI models. It can answer questions, write content, summarize documents, and generate images, but it is not integrated into Google Workspace. | Approved for:
| Available as a browser-based tool and mobile phone application, when authenticated with your SUNet ID. |
| NotebookLM | Available starting Free for all active SUNet IDs. | AI-powered research and note taking tool that lets users upload documents and ask questions about them. | Approved for:
| Available as a browser-based tool and mobile phone application, when authenticated with your SUNet ID. |
* Similar to the Google Gemini models also available in the Stanford AI Playground for free.
Rates and purchasing details to note
Some community members might have questions on these specific topics:
Microsoft 365 Copilot reduced cost timing: For departments that have already purchased Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses, the newly negotiated cost reduction will be applied automatically on future invoices, effective Nov. 1, 2025.
Paid versions of Google Gemini for Workspace and Google NotebookLM Plus: At this time, paid versions of Google Gemini and NotebookLM cannot be purchased for use with Stanford accounts due to vendor licensing limitations. UIT will continue to work with them to find solutions in the future.
Get help
Closer to the rollout of these services, UIT will publish instructions for each tool. These service details will be available on UIT’s AI site under Services.
In the meantime:
- For purchasing questions, see the purchase details above for each service. please submit a Help request.
- For technical assistance with existing services, please contact the Service Desk.
- For general questions about AI, visit UIT’s AI site.
