ZotGPT
Quicklink(s)
ZotGPT Chat is a free AI tool for UCI students, faculty, and staff, offering features like multiple models, chat history, file uploads, and a large context window.
ZotGPT Academy and Prompt Library Now Available!
Become an ZotGPT expert with our ZotGPT Academy, a series of courses designed to help you get the most of ZotGPT.
Browse our carefully curated prompt library for ideas about how to effectively use generative chat tools.
What is ZotGPT?
ZotGPT is the umbrella term used for AI services secured with campus contracts. Curious about AI, but want to try it in a more secure environment? ZotGPT is the answer. This is a fast moving space. We will continue to add new AI resources as they become available.
Learn how to use AI Chatbots securely.
By UCI, For UCI
ZotGPT Chat
Up to P3
ZotGPT Chat is available to students, faculty, and staff at no cost. As part of OIT’s ongoing commitment to supporting the university’s emerging generative AI needs, ZotGPT Chat can help brainstorm ideas, develop plans, and find different ways to get things done; for any use related to classes, be sure to follow your instructor’s guidelines. Currently, Chat supports multiple models, chat history, file uploads, and a large context window. ZotGPT Chat is built using Microsoft Azure AI, Amazon AWS, and open web technologies.
See the ZotGPT Chat tab for more details.
ZotGPT API
The ZotGPT API offers researchers a unique opportunity to access advanced Language Learning Models (LLMs) programmatically, while ensuring the safety and protection of university proprietary data.
See the ZotGPT API tab for more details.
ZotGPT ClassChat (In Limited Pilot)
ClassChat is built on top of ZotGPT to allow for the creation of curated chatbots for educational purposes. ClassChat is designed to be used by faculty to create chatbots for their classes, providing students with a conversational interface to interact with the course material.
ZotGPT Chat
Up to P3
ZotGPT Chat is a free AI tool for UCI students, faculty, and staff, offering features like multiple models, chat history, file uploads, and a large context window. For class-related use, follow your instructor’s guidelines. Built with Microsoft Azure AI, Amazon AWS, and open web technologies, it operates securely within UCI’s infrastructure.
Benefits of ZotGPT Chat
- Supports multiple models: ZotGPT Chat supports multiple models from OpenAI to Anthropic Claude. All for free, all the time. We’ll continue to add support for additional models.
- Comprehensive chat history: ZotGPT Chat provides a comprehensive chat history that is stored securely in Amazon Web Services and is only accessible to you. Your conversation history is not shared with third parties.
- Private and secure: Your data is safe with us. ZotGPT Chat is designed to protect your privacy and confidentiality.
- Built by UCI, for UCI: As a homegrown tool maintained by the UCI Office of Information Technology, we maintain control over the feature set and data handling practices of ZotGPT Chat. We are committed to providing a safe and secure environment for the UCI community.
ZotGPT Chat Privacy Notice
The ZotGPT Chat Privacy Notice outlines our practices concerning the collection, use, and safeguarding of Data used with ZotGPT Chat. These practices also apply to our contracted vendors, ensuring that information is protected consistently across all services and interactions related to ZotGPT Chat.
Why ZotGPT API?
API access is now available to all faculty and staff, enabling you to integrate ZotGPT into your research and projects seamlessly. To get you started, we’re offering a $200 credit for API token usage.
Features
- Dedicated management tool: Use the dedicated Azure AI API Manager to request and manage accounts, view code samples, access documentation, and monitor usage.
- Private and secure: Your data is safe with us. ZotGPT Chat is designed to protect your privacy and confidentiality.
- Fair and competitive pricing: ZotGPT API is priced fairly and competitively. We offer a $200 credit for API token usage to get you started.
AI Services from UCI Partners
OIT provides these tools as UCI-contracted resources, offering greater degrees of privacy and security than the publicly-available commercial versions of these tools.
Microsoft Copilot Chat
Up to P3
Microsoft Copilot Chat offers a tailored AI-powered chat solution powered by OpenAI technology including ChatGPT and DALL-E 3. It is available to UCI employees and students who have Microsoft 365 accounts and are logged in with their UCI AD credentials.
Use Copilot
(Log in with your UCI Microsoft 365 account.)
UCI Google Gemini
Only P1 – P2
Gemini is a large language model chatbot developed by Google AI and powered by the Gemini AI model. Gemini is designed to be informative and comprehensive in its responses. It is available to UCI employees and students who are logged into their UCI Google accounts.
Use Gemini
(Log in with your UCI Google account.)
Learn ZotGPT
- ZotGPT Academy – Become an expert with our ZotGPT Academy, a series of courses designed to help you get the most out of ZotGPT
- ZotGPT Prompt Library – Browse our carefully curated prompt library for ideas about how to effectively use generative chat tools.
ZotGPT API Support
- Contact Information: For support, email oit@uci.edu and include “ZotGPT API” in the subject line.
- Service Notifications: Users will be informed of any significant changes, maintenance schedules, or potential outages via email.
- Model Decommissioning: OIT may decommission underutilized or inferior models. Users will be notified and may need to migrate to newer supported models.
Microsoft Copilot Documentation
Google Gemini Documentation
Need more help?
AT A GLANCE
REQUIREMENTS
- ZotGPT requires an active UCInetID
- Copilot requires a UCI Microsoft 365 account
- Gemini requires a UCI Google account
COST
- No additional charge for ZotGPT Chat, Copilot Chat or Gemini Chat
- See Pricing for ZotGPT API Access
ELIGIBILITY
Faculty, Staff, Graduate Students,
Undergraduate Students
RELATED OR SIMILAR SERVICES
- ZotGPT Prompt Library
- ZotGPT API
- ZotGPT ClassChat (In Limited Pilot)
- Microsoft Copilot Chat
- Google Gemini
DATA PROTECTION LEVELS
- ZotGPT: P1 – P3 (P4 with MOU)
- UCI Microsoft Copilot: P1 – P3
- UCI Google Gemini: P1 – P2 Only
TRAINING
Frequently Asked Questions
Intentionally Left Blank
This toggle makes sure the first one is closed.
What is ZotGPT?
ZotGPT is the umbrella term used for AI services secured with campus contracts. Curious about AI, but want to try it in a more secure environment? ZotGPT is the answer.
The current ZotGPT offerings include:
- ZotGPT Chat – Built at UCI
- ZotGPT API – Built at UCI
- ClassChat – In Limited Pilot
- ZotGPT Creator – In Development
- Microsoft Copilot Chat (used with your UCI Microsoft account)
- UCI Google Gemini (used with your UCI Google account)
This is a fast moving space. We will continue to add new AI resources as they become available.
What level of privacy is available with ZotGPT? Who can see my chats?
- For ZotGPT Chat: Your chats are not used by Microsoft, UCI, or OpenAI to train AI models. Your chats are private and secure. You can delete your chat history at any time.
- For Microsoft Copilot: Your chats are not used by Microsoft, UCI, or OpenAI to train AI models as long as you authenticate using your UCI credentials. Your chats are confidential.
- For Google Gemini: Your chats are not used by Google to train the Gemini model as long as you authenticate using your UCI credentials.
Why should I use ZotGPT instead of just using a personal ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or the other AI services already available?
ZotGPT was created to allow UCI affiliates to explore AI in a safer environment. All AI models under the ZotGPT umbrella have campus contracts in place. External AI tools do not have these safeguards. Do not use them with campus data.
If you are using Copilot or Gemini, make sure you are logged in with your UCI credentials to protect campus data.
What type of data is safe to use with ZotGPT?
| P1 | P2 | P3 | P4 / HIPAA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZotGPT | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| UCI Microsoft Copilot | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| UCI Google Gemini | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Can I trust the information I find using AI tools?
It’s important to note that AI is still in its early stages of development, and there are limitations to its capabilities. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to approach AI-generated information with a critical eye and use your own judgment to determine its reliability. It’s always a good idea to check the information to verify the accuracy using other sources.
What is available via ZotGPT Chat? Chat, image generation, etc.
The first iteration of ZotGPT Chat will be text chat based. We will be adding new features as they become available. Microsoft Copilot Chat includes image generation using DALL-E 3. Google Gemini now also includes the capability of creating images using Imagen 2.
What AI models does ZotGPT use?
- ZotGPT Chat OpenAI o1, GPT-4; Anthropic Claude; Mistral Large; Mixtral 8x7B;
- Microsoft Copilot uses Microsoft Prometheus (Powered by Bing and GPT-4 series LLMs), DALL-E 3
- Google Gemini currently uses the Gemini AI model
Will other AI models be available through ZotGPT in the future?
Yes, UCI and the UC system are evaluating AI instances to see what can be made available with campus contracts. We have recently added several more AI models.
Does it cost anything to use ZotGPT Chat?
No, currently there will be no cost to use ZotGPT chat. This may change in the future if it becomes cost prohibitive.
There is a cost to use ZotGPT API. See the API Pricing article.
What is the difference between Microsoft Copilot Chat, Google Gemini, and ZotGPT Chat?
See the comparison chart below.
| Feature | ZotGPT Chat | UCI Microsoft Copilot | UCI Google Gemini |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data Security | Up to P3 | Up to P3 (P4 with MOU) | P1 and P2 Only |
| Saved Chats | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Text Extraction | Yes (from images and PDFs) | Yes (from images only) | Yes (from images only) |
| Image Analysis | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Image Generation | No | Yes (using DALL-E 3) | Yes |
| Voice Chat | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Internet responses * | Yes (UCI Specific) | Yes (using Bing) | Yes (using Google) |
| Extended Memory ** | Yes | No | No |
| Availability | Faculty, Staff & Students | Faculty, Staff & Students | Faculty, Staff & Students |
| UCI Authentication | Use UCInetID | Use UCI Microsoft Account | Use UCI Google Account |
| AI Models | OpenAI o1, GPT-4; Anthropic Claude; Mistral Large; Mixtral 8x7B; | Microsoft Prometheus (Powered by Bing and GPT-4 series LLMs), DALL-E 3 | Gemini |
** Extended Memory can leverage historic chat data, files, etc. in replies.
What browsers does ZotGPT Chat work on?
ZotGPT Chat should work on all modern browsers including Chrome, Safari, Edge and Firefox. It is also mobile friendly, so try it out on your phone or other mobile device.
I'm getting an error message when trying to access ZotGPT Chat. What should I do?
Please wait a few minutes and try again. You may also need to clear your browser’s cache and cookies.
How to clear cache and cookies
If you continue to receive this error, please email oit@uci.edu.
Are there usage limits with ZotGPT Chat?
No, not at this time, although we are monitoring usage and may implement limitations as needed.
Is there API access to ZotGPT?
Yes! ZotGPT API is now available for researchers.
The ZotGPT API provides researchers and others with safe, programmatic access to the latest LLMs.
Currently, there are no commercial AI API offerings approved for P3+ data. Running your own LLM could be an option, but that often requires specialized hardware, not to mention associated setup and maintenance effort.
With the ZotGPT API, you can get an API key and be using the latest models today – all while protecting the University’s proprietary data.
Is the hardware that runs ZotGPT Chat hosted locally by UCI?
ZotGPT Chat leverages several cloud technology providers, all of which are contracted by UCI to provide cloud services, abide by UC data security practices, and so on. Microsoft Azure serves as the host for the AI engine and Amazon AWS hosts the website, web application, and database.