While generative artificial intelligence (AI) existed prior to 2022, the introduction of ChatGPT sparked interest in AI unlike anything before. To better understand and leverage its capabilities, University of Iowa Information Technology Services formed the AI Support Team.   

Supported by funding from the P3 Program, the team elevates the university's AI capabilities. They provide educational opportunities and offer consultations to individuals and departments. The team also assists with AI tool exploration and implementation, when appropriate, to enhance work and foster innovation. 

Hired as the first AI consultant, Manda Marshall’s role concentrated on Microsoft Copilot and chatbots. She started a test flight for Copilot 365, which integrates with Microsoft 365 and allows for increased character limits and larger file uploads. The test flight began with 400 participants in spring 2024 and will increase to 1,000 during spring 2025.  

As need for AI expertise grew, Marshall became manager of the AI Support Team, and Vedansh Airen and Maddi Brenner joined as AI consultants. Brenner has experience in business and entrepreneurial research and prompt engineering. Airen led projects for AI chatbots, VR simulations, and healthcare applications, with expertise in artificial intelligence and software development. 

Collaborations and innovations 

An aspect of the team’s role is to investigate and integrate AI tools while considering ethical aspects, data security, feasibility, and scalability.  

“AI is growing rapidly every day, and there’s a need to evaluate these applications to understand how they fit into our environment,” says Airen. 

Currently in development, a new internal chatbot will help human resources professionals by reducing the time spent on routine questions. For example, if asked, "What if a new employee misses the deadline for enrolling in benefits?" the chatbot promptly responds, "The employee can enroll during open enrollment each fall, or after a qualifying event." 

"We are evaluating Ivy.ai as a vendor to understand its capabilities and limitations," says Marshall. "We understand that no single chatbot vendor will serve all use cases on campus, but it may be suitable for certain contexts based on the results of the pilot." 

The team also cultivates a collaborative community around AI work on campus by organizing the AI Lightning Talks. These events consist of three to five-minute presentations about AI tools, best practices, and practical applications. Additionally, they provide AI training opportunities and have recently introduced sessions on prompt engineering to achieve effective outputs and using AI to increase efficiency. 

“There’s no way to predict what the AI landscape will be in five years, which makes this an exciting opportunity,” Marshall says. “We were intentional about building our team with varying areas of expertise so that we can adapt to best support the university.” 

To contact the AI Support Team, email ITS-AISupportTeam@uiowa.edu.