Buying Generative AI Licences

Access supported AI-powered tools

Two major generative AI tools are now available for purchase by departments and colleges across the University of Oxford: ChatGPT Edu, and Copilot for Microsoft 365. These tools offer you the ability to use the power of generative AI for research, teaching or administration, while protecting your data and collaborating with other users across the University. These tools can be purchased for use by anyone within The University.

Licences are now available and can be purchased through IT Services. The AI and Machine Learning Competency Centre will provide support and training to use these generative AI tools. As well as being approved for use with University data, purchasing licences centrally can offer discounts on the standard costs of these AI tools.

These are alternative to the free, Plus and Teams versions of ChatGPT, and to the free version of Copilot. Using these central licences offers additional enterprise-level protections, and enables generative AI tools that can be used for processing personal or confidential information.

If you are currently using a paid version of ChatGPT (such as Plus or Teams), we strongly recommend you consider switching to ChatGPT Edu. You should also consider a subscription if you are using ChatGPT Free version for work related matters. In some cases, you may also want to consider Copilot for Microsoft 365 for its integration with SharePoint and Exchange and Office applications such as Teams or Outlook. See below for more details on switching from a paid ChatGPT licence to Edu.

If you have requested a licence, you will be notified once you and/or your team have access to a licence.

Use the links below to make your order, once you have your budget holder's approval and the GL code (for Departments) or Purchase Order number (for Colleges).
ORDER CHATGPT EDU ORDER MICROSOFT COPILOT 
ORDER CHATGPT EDU - COLLEGES ONLY ORDER MICROSOFT COPILOT - COLLEGES ONLY

ChatGPT Edu Licences

ChatGPT Edu is an educational version of OpenAI's ChatGPT. It provides AI-powered tools to support learning, research, and teaching activities. ChatGPT Edu offers all the same features as the paid ChatGPT Plus service, and is both more powerful and more secure than free versions of ChatGPT.

This platform provides tools for data analysis, web browsing, and document summarization, enhancing research and learning experiences. Users can create custom GPTs—personalized versions of ChatGPT—for specific projects or courses, facilitating tailored educational applications.

Confidential or personal data, such as staff or student names, should not be entered into unapproved generative AI tools. ChatGPT Edu protects user data and ensures that no information from the University is used for training AI models or otherwise exposed.

If you are currently using or considering a paid version of ChatGPT (such as Plus or Teams), we strongly recommend switching to ChatGPT Edu or Copilot for Microsoft 365. Moving your Plus or Teams account to the Edu licence will allow you to transfer your usage history and you will receive a pro-rata refund on your existing subscription.

To order ChatGPT Edu licences, you will need the agreement of your budget approver, and know how many staff you wish to assign licences. Once you have your budget approval and cost centre code, please fill out this form for departments or this form for colleges.

ChatGPT Edu Licences cost £202 per user per year (a discount to standard paid versions of ChatGPT). Licences are initially offered for 12 months starting from December 2024.

You can request any number of licences to be assigned to the user(s) of your choice. Licences can be reassigned within your department following purchase, by contacting the AI and Machine Learning Competency Centre.

Licence holders will be given support to start using ChatGPT Edu, including access to training sessions, a suite of online resources, and support from OpenAI and the AI and Machine Learning Competency Centre.

If you are currently participating in the ChatGPT Enterprise pilot, you do not need to do anything. Your account has been automatically migrated to Oxford's Edu workspace. You will be able to use the account until the end of the pilot period in May 2025, when you can make a decision about a purchase.

The Digital Transformation programme has conducted a 6-month review of premium generative AI tools, including giving 250 staff across the University access to ChatGPT and another 300 staff access to Microsoft Copilot. Most staff have found the use of these tools to be highly effective, enhancing and speeding up their University work without reducing accuracy.  

Generative AI tools can be used for increasing your productivity in routine tasks, idea generation, reformatting or rewriting text or other data, creating images and presentations, and understanding and processing large amounts of information. The AI and Machine Learning Competency Centre offers case studies and training as to how best to use GenAI tools.

If you are currently using a paid version of ChatGPT (such as Plus or Teams) or another generative AI tool, we strongly recommend you consider switching to ChatGPT Edu or Copilot for Microsoft 365. See the below section for details on the advantages.

If you are currently participating in the ChatGPT Enterprise pilot, you do not need to do anything. Your account will automatically be switched to an Edu account. You will be able to use the account for free until the end of the pilot period in May 2025 when you can make a decision about a purchase.

If you are currently using a paid version of ChatGPT (such as Plus or Teams), we strongly recommend you consider switching to ChatGPT Edu. You should also consider a ChatGPT Edu subscription if you are using ChatGPT Free version for any work related matters.

In some cases, you may also want to consider Copilot for Microsoft Microsoft 365 for its integration with Sharepoint, Exchange, and Office applications such as Teams and Outlook.

Reasons to switch to ChatGPT Edu:

  • Saving money. We are offering a ChatGPT Edu licence at a reduced rate. It is cheaper than a Plus or Teams licence.
  • Better security. You can access ChatGPT Edu via your SSO, which gives you more security and convenience than either the Plus or Teams licence.
  • Share your GPTs and chats privately with others in the Oxford workspace or with the whole Oxford workspace all at once.
  • No training of data models. Unlike Plus subscriptions, where you have to manually opt out of allowing your data to be used to train OpenAI’s data models, in the ChatGPT Edu licence, opting out is the default setting.
  • Security assessment. Only ChatGPT Edu is covered by InfoSec’s third-party security assessment (TPSA). This is the same security assessment that covers all use of Microsoft Microsoft 365 across the University. If you feel secure uploading files to Sharepoint, you should feel at ease uploading your files to ChatGPT Edu.

Things to bear in mind:

  • There is no export option of your data if you are using in ChatGPT Edu (this is also the case for the Teams licence, but Plus or Free accounts however do allow data export).
  • Occasionally, some new features and models are released on a delay to ChatGPT Edu to allow for review or compliance. This is usually about a week or so later but occasionally longer.

Migrating your existing data:

You can only automatically merge your chat history from a Free or Plus account if you used your SSO (abcd1234@ox.ac.uk) as your user name/email for that ChatGPT account. You will be given an option to migrate on sign up.

If, on the other hand, you used any other email (for example first.last@dept.ox.ac.uk) to sign up, you will get a new account under your SSO with ChatGPT Edu and your existing account will remain available in parallel with the new one. If you stop paying for the Plus account, your history will remain available to you. You can also export your data for your records and delete the old account (note, this data cannot be imported in ChatGPT Edu).

Existing ChatGPT Teams accounts cannot merge into the Edu workspace and do not allow data export or access after you stop the subscription. Those accounts would have to close and you would lose your history.

How would it work?

If you choose to join us in the University of Oxford's ChatGPT Edu workspace, you will be added by OpenAI and receive an email to prompt you to join your new Edu workspace. This will create a new account or ask you to transfer your history. If you were paying for your subscription and your account migrates as part of the sign up, you will automatically receive a pro rata refund.

How do I switch?

If you would like to join us in ChatGPT Edu, you simply need to fill in the relevant form (linked above) to initiate the process.

Copilot for Microsoft 365 Licences

Copilot for Microsoft 365 is a generative AI-powered tool that can access and process data in your Microsoft applications.

Copilot is integrated into Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams. It leverages large language models and user-specific data from your Microsoft Graph (like emails, documents, and calendar events) to provide intelligent suggestions, automate tasks, and enhance productivity.

In Word, Copilot can help generate, summarize, or rewrite content. In Excel, it analyses data, builds complex formulas, and creates insights to make data-driven decisions easier. In PowerPoint, it assists with creating slides, suggesting layouts, and even generating text for presentations. In Outlook, Copilot drafts and summarizes emails, helping manage inboxes more effectively. In Teams, it can summarize conversations, outline action points, and track tasks. If you are wanting to use Copilot to record or transcribe meetings, you must first request access to do so: Record a meeting in Teams | IT Help

Conversations and other data processed via Copilot are not used to train AI models, maintaining user confidentiality.

To order Copilot licences, you will need the agreement of your budget approver. Please fill out this form for departments or this form for colleges.

Copilot for Microsoft 365 Licences cost £26 per user per month. Licences will expire on 31st August 2025. 

Your department can request any number of licences to be assigned to the user(s) of your choice. These licences can be reassigned within your department at any point following purchase, by contacting the AI and Machine Learning Competency Centre.

Licence holders will be given support to start using Copilot, including access to training sessions, online resources, and support from Microsoft and the AI and Machine Learning Competency Centre.

If you are currently participating in the Copilot for Microsoft 365 Enterprise pilot you will be able to use the licence for free until the end of the pilot period in 2025, when you can make a decision about a purchase.

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