UTK built its own AI chat tool, called UT Verse, and made it available free to all students, faculty, and staff starting in September 2023. Unlike commercial tools, UT Verse keeps conversations private — data is not shared externally or used to train outside AI models.

UT Verse was developed in-house by UTK's Office of Innovative Technologies (OIT) beginning in August 2023, initially as a proof of concept powered by OpenAI GPT 3.5, then fully rebuilt as a multi-agent generative AI platform. As of December 2025, version 1.6.0 introduced Thread Folders and an AI Folder Manager that automates thread management. The platform supports document upload and analysis, assistive coding in approximately 300 programming languages, web search with citations, customizable AI personas called Smart Personas, Smart Prompt templates, and Smart Reply suggestions. It is available at utverse.tennessee.edu and has received national and international recognition for institutional AI deployment.