AI Tools at HCC

AI can help you write, study, plan, and work through problems. Some tools come with your Houston City College account. Others you can use on your own. A few cannot be used at HCC at all.

This page sorts them into three groups so you know where you stand before you start.

  • Tools HCC provides. Included with your HCC account at no cost to you. One of them, Copilot, has an upgraded version that individual departments pay for.
  • Tools you can use on your own. HCC does not provide, pay for, or support these. You may use them if you have your own access, within the limits on this page.
  • Tools nobody at HCC can use. A small number are prohibited by Texas state law, on HCC equipment and on your own device when you are doing HCC work.

Each tool below says who can get it, what it is good at, and how to start.

The one thing to remember

AI tools are not private. Anything you type in goes to the company that runs the tool. Before you paste something in, ask yourself whether it would be a problem if it showed up online.

Free with your HCC account

Google Gemini

For everyone: A general assistant. Writing, explaining hard topics, planning, and research help.

Gemini Notebook

For everyone: Ask questions about documents you upload. It answers only from your sources.

Microsoft Copilot

For everyone, with a paid upgrade: Help inside Word, Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams

Wolfram

For everyone, with a one-time sign-up: Math, data, and step-by-step solutions. Alpha Pro, Mathematica, and System Modeler.

Everything Else

Learn more

Where these guidelines come from

The HCC Board of Trustees adopted a policy on generative AI that encourages the college to use these tools while protecting students, employees, and college information. Everything on this page follows from it, including the rules about what you can enter and your responsibility for what AI produces.

Other HCC policies still apply when you use AI, including the Employee Standards of Conduct, the Student Code of Conduct, and the rules that protect student records under FERPA.

Read HCC Board Policy CRB(LOCAL) 101506, Technology Resources: Generative Artificial Intelligence

Contact Us

AI Transformation Office