All students and staff of Oxford University will get free ChatGPT Edu!

The rollout includes training and guidance on the ethical and responsible use of AI, with both online and in-person support available, says Oxford. Images: SJPrice/Pixabay, Airam Dato-on/Pexels

The University of Oxford has announced it will provide free access to ChatGPT Edu, an education-focused version of OpenAI's AI tool, to all students and staff, starting this academic year. This makes Oxford the first UK university to widely deploy the platform following a year-long pilot involving around 750 users.

ChatGPT Edu is designed specifically for academic use, with enhanced privacy controls to ensure university data is retained internally. Users will have access to OpenAI's latest model, GPT-5, through the platform. The initiative is part of a five-year partnership between the university and OpenAI, states a report by BBC on the matter.

The rollout includes training and guidance on the ethical and responsible use of AI, with both online and in-person support available, says Oxford. A new AI Governance Group and Digital Governance Unit have been established to oversee the implementation and use of such technologies.

Additional projects under the partnership include digitising historical collections from the Bodleian Libraries and a jointly funded research programme to study the societal impact of generative AI. The university also provides access to other AI tools such as Microsoft's Copilot and Google's Gemini, states the official announcement by the university.