What is Purple?

Purple is the University of Washington’s enterprise generative AI tool. It provides a ChatGPT-like interface for students, faculty, and staff to interact with approved AI models in a UW-managed environment. It is a University-supported alternative to publicly available AI tools.
 
Purple can help with common academic and administrative tasks such as:

• Drafting and editing content
• Summarizing and analyzing information
• Brainstorming ideas or outlines
• Assisting with research and coursework

This is a quick start guide for Purple, the complete user guide can be accessed here.

Take a tour of Purple

On this page:

• Log in to Purple
• ONEchat Screen
• Quick Start Guide
• Tips for Asking Good Questions 
• Data Privacy & Compliance 
• Need Help or Have Feedback? 

1. Go to: https://purple.uw.edu
2. Click the "Sign in with Microsoft" button.
   
3. Enter your UW email address and password when prompted.
4. Complete authentication with Duo.
   • New to Duo? View Duo guides

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Brought to the ONEchat Screen?

Each numbered item below matches a labeled callout in the screenshot to help you locate the feature on screen:

1. When you log in, you'll be greeted by Name and can immediately begin a conversation.
2. Under the + menu, you can enable or disable Image Creation, Web Search, and Code Interpreter, and select a Reasoning Mode.
   
   • Add Files & Images - Upload documents, images, or other files to include in your conversation.
   • Import from - Connect and import content from external sources or integrations (currently disabled)
   • Image Creation - Toggle to generate AI images based on your descriptions.
   • Web Search - Toggle to search the internet for current information and sources.
   • Code Interpreter - Let the model execute code and perform computational tasks in a sandbox environment. Available for some models.
   • Quick Prompts - Access pre-written prompt templates to jumpstart common tasks. 
   • Reasoning Mode - Control how the model thinks through problems, with options to adjust the depth of reasoning.
3. You can select the model you'd like to use from the list of available options. After you select a model provider, brief descriptions of each available model are provided to help you decide.
4. When you select New Chat from the menu pane, it will always begin a ONEchat conversation. 

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Quick Start Guide

Inside Purple, to access the Quick Start Tour, click on the question mark icon located on the bottom righthand corner of their screen.

The tour will cover the basics of the platform, including the chat bar, file upload button and methodology, user prompt button, conversation/chat history, conversation search feature, and user menu options.

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Tips for Asking Good Questions 

Start with your goal. 

• “I need to write an email to a student …”
• “I want to explain this policy …” 

Don’t chase perfect wording. Type naturally: Treat Purple like a colleague and refine together. 

Quick examples 

• “Summarize this policy.”
• “Explain this error.”
• “Draft the first paragraph of a grant proposal.” 

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Data Privacy and Use Guidelines