Which AI Tool Should I Choose?
A Quick Guide for CMU Community Members
As generative AI becomes more common in academic and administrative life, you may wonder which tools you should use and for what purpose.
Here’s a quick guide to help you learn the difference between common tools, which ones are currently available with your CMU account, and why you may use one over another.
Available with Your CMU Account
Microsoft Copilot
Copilot is a generative AI chatbot that can help you summarize meeting notes, brainstorm new ideas, generate images and code samples, and more. Copilot is powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4 and DALL-E 3 models.
With Copilot, you can input your own prompts, upload files to interact with or use it in the Edge sidebar to interact with webpages. You can even generate Microsoft Office files, like documents, spreadsheets, and powerpoints, directly from Copilot.
For faculty, staff, and students over 18 years old, Copilot protects your data when you access it using your CMU account. Microsoft will not retain your prompts or responses to train its AI models. Just check for the white shield icon after you log in.
ChatGPT Edu
ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, is an advanced AI-powered chatbot that can help you synthesize information, summarize complex topics, conduct research, and generate new content, including text, code, and images. Use it to enhance your writing, brainstorming, studying, problem-solving, and more.
Faculty and staff can purchase ChatGPT Edu licenses through the university's software catalog.
ChatGPT Edu offers:
- FERPA-compliance – ChatGPT Edu is the only licensing option that meets FERPA requirements.
- Simplified billing – CMU community members will pay for licenses using an Oracle string.
gemini.google.com
gemini.google.com is another chatbot option similar to Copilot but powered by Google’s own large language models. With gemini.google.com, you can input prompts via text or using your voice and upload files to interact with.
gemini.google.com also provides data protection for faculty, staff, sponsored accounts, and students over 18 years old when you log in with your CMU account. Google will not retain your prompts or responses to train its AI models.
NotebookLM
NotebookLM is a research and writing assistant and note-taking tool that allows you to upload sources and create custom notebooks to interact with using Google’s Gemini AI models. Upload PDFs, websites, videos, audio files, Google Docs, and more, and NotebookLM will help you summarize, make connections between sources, and generate new ideas.
NotebookLM can even condense information from your sources into a conversational podcast or FAQ format!
Like gemini.google.com, NotebookLM provides data protection for faculty, staff, sponsored accounts, and students over 18 years old when you log in with your CMU account. Google will never use your sources, prompts, or responses to train their AI models.
Zoom AI Companion
AI Companion is an embedded tool accessible within Zoom. AI companion allows you to:
- Create AI-generated meeting recaps, next steps, and in-depth summaries
- Allow attendees to ask the AI questions if they miss something during a meeting
- Create smart recordings with chapters and key highlights
AI Companion also provides data protection for faculty, staff, and students when logged in with your CMU account. Zoom will not use your audio, video, chat, screen sharing, attachments, or any other data to train its artificial intelligence models.
Available with a Personal Account
ChatGPT Free, Plus, Pro, and Teams
If you choose to use a ChatGPT Free, Plus, Pro, or Teams account, only enter information that you would share publicly online. OpenAI may retain your prompts and responses to train its AI models.