Welcome to BearGPT Enterprise Assistants. This initiative provides an enterprise AI service aimed at serving departments and official University functions, as a part of BearGPT. These BearGPT Assistants provide enterprise-grade AI Assistants curated by sponsoring units with official University content. The service is open to University employees for making official University or Departmental AI Assistants that will reside and be available via https://beargpt.berkeley.edu. Additionally the service offers curated public-facing chatbots to be posted on University websites. (Open Berkeley will offer integration with BearGPT Public Curated Chatbots in early 2026.) If you are looking to create an assistant for one or more people to use individually, we recommend NotebookLM!
BearGPT Enterprise Assistants
These are a sample of the public (open to CalNet authenticated staff and faculty) Assistants you can find in BearGPT. It is also possible to order more restricted Assistants, for a smaller group- such as for a departmentally focused Assistant.
Curated Public Chatbots
In addition to internally facing Assistants like those above, it is possible to order a public chatbot, where you can curate information aimed at a broader audience. This information is available via a chatbot button on University websites. This is a great way of sharing information to promote programs or official information to the general public, especially to make complex websites easier to navigate.
There is a cost for public-facing chatbots. These costs are associated with the separate infrastructure and configuration provided by UC San Diego.
COST: $6,000 per year (flat-fee, one time annual payment)
We have found that this is very competitively priced compared with similar commercial chatbot offerings.
Features in Scope for the Pilot
For University AI Assistants, the BearGPT team will work with you to guide the information scoping, selection and hygiene process to ensure your AI Assistant provides accurate, appropriate information. For the pilot period, we are seeking to understand use-cases, and interest in campus-facing and public-facing chatbots - and there is no charge for internally facing AI Assistants.
Is BearGPT secure?
BearGPT runs on GPUs in the UC San Diego Data Center, using the open weight gpt-oss AI model from OpenAI. The internally facing service (available on the BearGPT platform, https://beargpt.berkeley.edu/) is offered for P2 data, with plans to upgrade to P3 use-cases in 2026. For public-facing chatbots, you are restricted to public information - ie, P1 data.)
How do BearGPT Curated Enterprise Assistants differ from NotebookLM
You can think of the BearGPT Enterprise Assistants as very similar to NotebookLM, but for enterprise, not individual use. People can manage NotebookLM directly, without specialized help. The key differences between the two reflect the positioning of BearGPT Assistants as an enterprise offering:
- BearGPT includes web crawlers to traverse websites, designed to ingest thousands of pages
- BearGPT has multiple types of "connectors" to integrate systems, data and content beyond what Google offers in NotebookLM
- NotebookLM is designed for personal use-cases, and has limits on configuration options (but it's easily available for everyone to use)
- BearGPT has security guardrails the University can configure to meet specific regulatory requirements
Who can participate in the pilot?
Currently, the Enterprise Assistants part of the pilot is open to Berkeley faculty and staff managing departmental websites or programs, for official use.
Register your request for a BearGPT Assistant or Public Chatbot
If you need technical assistance or have questions about the pilot, please email beargpt@berkeley.edu.
Executive Sponsors: Tracy Shinn (AVC-IT and CIO, UC Berkeley) and Eugene Whitlock (AVC-HR, UC Berkeley)
Functional Sponsors: Bill Allison (UC Berkeley CTO/Berkeley IT), and Douglas McSkimming (Chief of Staff & Director of Communications, People & Culture)
Project Manager: Luqi Jia