CINCINNATI — The University of Cincinnati has launched a private, campus-only artificial intelligence platform called BearcatGPT for academic and health services.
Officials say UC is the first university in Ohio to offer a private and secure AI platform.
"Last semester is when we rolled out, and in a short period of it being in everyone's hands, we have over 100 agents created on the platform," Bharath Prabhakaran, UC vice president and chief digital officer, said.
Prabhakaran said students can use the platform to study, prepare for tests and manage their day using specialized agents like "Bearcat Study Pal," "Bearcat Test-Prepper" and "Bearcat Genius".
At UC's Clermont campus, staff noticed there was a pressing need for math tutoring.
"We never have enough tutors to support all our students, right? So based on BearcatGPT, this faculty member worked with us and our enablement team to build a set of tutoring agents that allows students to get tutored in a Socratic method," Prabhakaran said.
Some students say that since the platform is specifically designed for the university, it could be a good tool for first-year students.
WATCH: Students share their opinions on the new private AI tool
Conner Menard is a freshman at UC studying international affairs.
"I'm technically a first-gen college student, so there are things about this experience I don't understand, so I feel like AI can be good at consolidating information like that," Menard said.
Although the platform keeps all queries and content private, some still question the purpose of the tool. BearcatGPT is designed to guide students rather than provide direct answers.
"It means you can't say as a student, 'My homework is due tonight, give me the answer.' If you go to ChatGPT, it'll probably give you the answer," Prabhakaran said. "BearcatGPT will say, 'Ok great, you don't understand it. Let's walk through the concepts like a tutor would.'"
Era Balla, a senior bioscience major, doesn't use AI and said she fears that it may not be utilized in the way it's intended for students using ChatGPT.
"Why would you use something that's not going to give you the answer right away so you can finish your worksheet, rather than just going to use normal ChatGPT, and it's like, here's the exact file that someone uploaded to like Quizlet, three years ago," Balla said.
BearcatGPT was unveiled to faculty in 2025 and to students in February this year. Officials say they will soon introduce an agent that can help faculty ensure their coursework is accessible to students with disabilities.
Despite uncertainty, many say they are open to trying out the new tool.
"I think that making a full swap would be difficult, but I'll definitely give it a look," UC student Rylan Isaacs said.
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