FAQ: ChatGPT Edu and Google AI Pro Edu

Premium AI Chatbot Features

How does ChatGPT Edu differ from the free version of ChatGPT?

The ChatGPT Edu premium subscription at UC Berkeley provides data protections and expanded capabilities not available in either the free or commercial offering. Specifically, ChatGPT Edu under the UC terms prohibits OpenAI from training their models on institutional data.

You may view the high-level details about features and capabilities of the ChatGPT Edu plan compared to the current ChatGPT Free offering (see “Enterprise” column): ChatGPT Feature Comparison. Note that the following features are not available: All Apps, Company knowledge, Atlas, Codex Cloud, Developer mode, Discover & use GPTs, Share GPTs with your workspace, Sora 1, Sora 2, and ChatGPT Pulse.

How does Google AI Pro Edu differ from the current Gemini offering?

The Google AI Pro Edu subscription is a premium, paid subscription per seat. A baseline chat for Google Gemini and NotebookLM are currently included in the UCB Google Workspace. Google AI Pro Edu embeds Gemini features into Workspace Apps and includes NotebookLM Plus.

View the high-level details about features and capabilities of the Google AI Pro Edu plan compared to the current Gemini for Education offering on page 3 of this Gemini for Education explainer. 

How does ChatGPT Edu compare to Google AI Pro Edu?

Google AI Pro Edu offers productivity within Google Workspace workflows and apps, everyday writing, complex research and document analysis, multimodal capabilities, and custom-built Gems.

ChatGPT Edu offers advanced reasoning, data analysis, refined content creation, generative problem-solving, and custom-built GPTs.

For a side-by-side summary, please refer to this Decision Guide: Premium AI Licensing. 

As newer chatbot model versions are released by either OpenAI or Google, will the pre-existing and the new models be included in the UCB offerings?

Yes, UC Berkeley currently has access to the latest versions of the models. However, if OpenAI or Google releases a newer model or product related to AI, it may not necessarily be included in the existing offering as they can change their product portfolio at any time.

The ChatGPT model and Gemini model versions currently available for each offering are shown below:

Existing AI Licenses

Will the current ChatGPT Free (and other) licenses remain in place?

The ChatGPT service will be a paid, premium offering only under the Edu license. Any current ChatGPT free and paid licenses (i.e. Pro, Plus, Business / Teams, or Enterprise) associated with the berkeley.edu domain should transition to the new ChatGPT Edu offering.

Learn more in the Data Security section of this FAQ (below).

Will the current Google for Education licenses remain in place?

Yes. UC Berkeley’s current Google for Education licenses give users access to Gemini and NotebookLM features in the UC Berkeley Google Workspace, and they will remain as part of the agreement.

Google AI Pro Edu is a premium, optional service that integrates Gemini and NotebookLM within Google Workspace apps, providing additional features.

Are the existing non-Edu ChaGPT accounts centrally funded? If not, how will current paid ChatGPT licenses be transitioned to the new Edu licenses?

No. The current ChatGPT accounts are not centrally funded, and are not covered under the UC Terms for OpenAI.

How do I migrate from my current ChatGPT @berkeley.edu license to the new Edu license? 

It is not possible to have two ChatGPT accounts with the same email account. Upon receiving the invitation to ChatGPT Edu license, Free and Plus accounts will have the following options:

A) Transfer existing chat history and GPTs - Account owner’s chats, attached files, projects, and GPTs, get transferred to the new Edu account. Plugins (i.e. apps or connectors) will be removed. 

B) Export and delete existing chat history - Provides the account owner a link to download all data from the existing account data. That account will then be deleted. The new Edu account is a fresh account that contains no data.

IMPORTANT: Export and delete existing chat history is the recommended option for existing users who have been using their ChatGPT account for personal use. This will help mitigate data privacy risks.

All other accounts (Go, Pro, Business/Teams, and Enterprise) are not able to migrate their data to the new UC Berkeley ChatGPT Edu license. Learn more about ChatGPT Account Migration.

Data Security

Is there a risk with ChatGPT users not using the Edu license?

Yes, free or paid users using ChatGPT with institutional data must transition to the Edu license under the UC Terms. Users using their UC Berkeley domain email addresses with non-Edu paid licenses pose a risk to UC Berkeley data since those personal accounts are not part of the terms with the University of California, which offers data protections for institutional data.

Will UCB claim the berkeley.edu domain for users signing up for ChatGPT (free or paid accounts) so that their data is protected under University of California terms?

The option to do a "domain claims" is something we're planning for a future state, but we can't do so immediately as OpenAI does not allow us to retain the free accounts. The best advice is for people who do not pay to change to another licensed AI tool such as the AI Sandbox, which provides access to ChatGPT and Claude, or switch to Gemini, which is included as part of the Productivity Tools.

Purchasing & Costs

Which entity will pay for the ChatGPT Edu and/or Google AI Pro Edu licenses?

Individual departments will be responsible for paying for the licenses with a valid chart string.

How would the bulk licenses be charged?

The process for departments paying for the licenses is currently being worked out. At this time, different forms of payment are being considered (i.e. monthly vs annually). The recurring charges are to be determined.

If I transition from my current paid ChatGPT @berkeley.edu account to the new Edu account, will I be refunded?

If you have a ChatGPT Plus account subscription, it will be cancelled and refunded upon completing the migration process mentioned above. All other license types (Go, Pro, Business / Teams, and Enterprise) cannot be refunded at this time.

For questions regarding your account, please reach out to your OpenAI Account Manager.

How would I request the bulk ChatGPT Edu and/or Google AI Pro Edu licenses?

An order form will be available soon for any department to request licenses.

If my department does not request licenses for the initial bulk order, will my department be able to request licenses later on throughout the year?

Departments will be able to purchase pro-rated subscriptions throughout the year. However, the more licenses are included in the initial bulk order, the cheaper the cost will be for all departments paying for ChatGPT Edu and Gemini AI Pro Edu licenses.

If ChatGPT Edu account users are no longer associated with UC Berkeley, what happens with the license costs their department(s) paid for? 

For ChatGPT Edu licenses of users no longer associated with UC Berkeley, or who should no longer have access, their licenses can be reassigned to new UC Berkeley users. There are no changes to billing in this case.

If my department purchases licenses but does not use them, will my department receive a refund?

The department will not receive a refund. However, license seats can be reassigned to specific users within a department.

License Allocation

Will the ChatGPT Edu licenses purchased be assigned to specific individual users? Or would the departments be able to internally manage/allocate them as needed (i.e. in case someone leaves)?

The licenses purchased will be named and assigned to individual users, but they can be reassigned to other users as needed. The process for re-assigning a license is to be determined (i.e. request ticket, CalGroups, etc.).

Can these ChatGPT Edu or Google AI Pro Edu licenses be allocated to graduate students/faculty?

The licenses purchased can cover any licenses under the department’s direct purview. If a department plans to pay for faculty and graduate student licenses, this number of licenses should be included in the bulk purchase order form once it becomes available.

For additional questions, contact ai_licensing@berkeley.edu.