UW prepares to launch AI Purple as part of campus AI strategy

As universities develop artificial intelligence roadmaps, UW is creating AI Purple, a generative AI tool designed to provide safe, responsible, and accessible support to students and faculty.

By Huzaifa Afzal

Universities are working to define how artificial intelligence should fit into their missions. A 2025 survey of nearly 800 higher education professionals found that while more than 80 percent of institutions already use AI in some form, only some of them have a campus-wide strategy, leaving most campuses with fragmented or silo ed efforts according to UMass Digest. 

The same study noted that training faculty and staff is the top planning priority, yet few institutions have new funding sources to support AI growth according to DigitalKoans. 

The University of Washington (UW) is building its own AI roadmap against this national backdrop with AI Purple, currently in development. Once launched, it will provide a vetted service for students, faculty, and staff to use with great confidence. 
 
UW has already released its first UW AI Guidelines, a document that sets expectations for safe, fair, and transparent use across teaching, research, and administration. Looking ahead, the university plans to develop a campus-wide data strategy within six months, expand its AI computing environment, and launch a portfolio of trusted AI tools within one year. 

By two years, UW-IT aims to raise campus-wide AI proficiency through new hires, training, and communities of practice UW AI Strategy. 

Beyond Purple, UW is also introducing AI features in Microsoft 365 Copilot to boost writing and productivity, Zoom AI for transcription and translation and the Tillicum GPU platform for advanced research computing. In addition, new AI Education programs will provide training and tutorials to help students, faculty and staff build their AI skills responsibly. 

To further connect the campus, UW has also launched an AI Community, a space where students, faculty, and staff can join conversations, share ideas, and stay up to date on AI events and resources. Anyone with a UW NetID can join and participate, creating opportunities for collaboration and collective learning across disciplines. 

Together, these initiatives reflect UW’s goal of embedding AI into academic life while keeping privacy, ethics, and accessibility at the forefront.