Google Public Sector Helps Enhance Learning at the University of Michigan with Pioneering New Agentic AI Virtual Teaching Assistant
This collaboration represents one of the biggest rollouts of an AI agent in higher education to date.
SUNNYVALE, Calif.– April 7 – Today at ASU+GSV Summit, Google Public Sector and the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan announced the launch of an advanced Virtual Teaching Assistant pilot program – featuring an AI agent built with Google AI technologies – designed to transform higher education learning for students and empower educators with valuable insights.
The agentic AI Virtual TA, developed by Google Public Sector and Michigan Ross, is powered by Google’s Gemini, providing students with 24/7 access to support and self-directed learning. Serving as a sophisticated AI learning assistant, the Virtual TA can be customized by educators to incorporate nuances of specific curricula. The Virtual TA facilitates self-paced learning for students, provides on-demand explanations of complex course concepts, and guides them through problem-solving, acting as a practice partner. The agent is designed to foster critical thinking by never giving away answers, ensuring students actively work towards solutions.
“As a critical partner to leading education institutions, Google Public Sector is proud to pioneer this personalized learning approach to improve educational delivery, provide early identification for intervention, and help educators solve some of their most pressing challenges,” said Chris Hein, Field Chief Technology Officer, Google Public Sector. “The Virtual TA is a prime example of how a customizable, Gemini-powered solution can advance the future of learning and help train the next generation workforce."
The Virtual TA has been piloted in a range of courses at Michigan Ross and other institutions, including financial technology, operations strategy, operations analytics, and statistics. Early results of the pilot program indicate greater student engagement and deeper insights into the learning patterns of students for instructors. In fact, the Virtual TA provides real-time analytics on student engagement, summaries of commonly asked questions, feedback on the AI agent’s effectiveness, and more.
"By partnering with Google Public Sector, we’re integrating today’s leading technology to improve the educational experience for our students,” said Jun Li, Michigan Ross professor of technology and operations. “We’ve seen early indications of success in leveraging the AI-powered Virtual TA and look forward to further using this tool to advance learning.”
Michigan Ross will incorporate insights from the Virtual TA pilot into a research study across a wide network of leading higher education institutions. The study will involve approximately 9,000 students, 72 courses, and 26 schools, and will develop guidelines on optimally deploying the technology in diverse educational settings. This rollout will be one of the largest deployments of an AI agent for the education sector – with a goal of better understanding how colleges and universities can adopt AI for learning.
To learn more about how Michigan Ross is advancing AI research to improve student learning and provide business professionals with the skills needed to use AI effectively in their jobs, visit here. For more information on how Google Cloud's AI technology is accelerating digital transformation for government agencies and educational institutions, visit here.
About Google Cloud
Google Cloud is the new way to the cloud, providing AI, infrastructure, developer, data, security, and collaboration tools built for today and tomorrow. Google Cloud offers a powerful, fully integrated and optimized AI stack with its own planet-scale infrastructure, custom-built chips, generative AI models and development platform, as well as AI-powered applications, to help organizations transform. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted technology partner.
About Michigan Ross
The Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan is a diverse learning community grounded in the principle that business can be an extraordinary vehicle for positive change in today's dynamic global economy. The Ross School of Business mission is building a better world through business. Through thought and action, the Ross community drives change, innovation, and leadership that improves business and society.
Michigan Ross is consistently ranked among the world's leading business schools. Academic degree programs include the Bachelor of Business Administration, Full-Time MBA, Part-Time MBA (Online and Weekend formats), Executive MBA, Master of Accounting, Master of Business Analytics, Master of Management, Master of Supply Chain Management, and PhD. In addition, the school delivers programs for individuals and custom executive education programs targeting leadership and management development, strategy, operations, governance, and human resource management. For more information, visit MichiganRoss.umich.edu.
Media Contacts:
Google Public Sector: Ashley Simms, simmsy@google.com
Michigan Ross: Matt Trevor, mtrevor@umich.edu
