Every college I speak to is doing something with AI. Far fewer are building anything of their own. At City of Portsmouth College (CoPC), we have built our own large language model interface, powered directly by API and connected securely to our digital ecosystem behind two factor authentication. It sits alongside a conviction I have held for a while now, that the most valuable AI work in a college is not a general chatbot bolted onto the intranet. It is a set of narrow, purpose-built tools aimed at the processes that are quietly losing you time and accuracy. In my last role I commissioned and built 20 bespoke agents doing exactly that, each one aimed at a workflow where productivity was slipping or error rates were creeping up. Now I am in post at CoPC, we will be exploring automation and AI solutions for similar workflows over the coming months. It is worth setting out plainly what this actually means, because “AI agents” has become one of those phrases that gets nodded at in meetings without anyone quite agreeing what it refers to. Become a member for unlimited access to FE Week Our members enjoy early access to exclusive content and in-depth articles before anyone else. Get expert journalism on FE and skills, experience fewer ads, and unlock a growing range of member benefits. subscribe If you have an account, please login. Sign in