ORA Virtual Assistant
Meet Ora, the ORA Virtual Assistant
Ora gives Emory research administration staff quick, on-demand access to trusted information — verified policies, procedures, award guidance, compliance requirements, and training resources — right when they need it. By making that information easy to find, Ora helps staff work more consistently, get up to speed faster, and rely less on tracking down the one colleague who knows the answer. Ora draws only from verified ORA knowledge sources and is built to support staff, not replace their judgment, so questions requiring interpretation or professional judgment should still go to the appropriate ORA office or expert.
What It Can Support
Answers Across the research lifecycle. The ORA Virtual Assistant helps with the day-to-day work of research administration, from proposal to closeout.
The Full Journey: From Concept to Institutional Scale
Since November 2022, this work has moved from a question — could AI help ORA? — through market evaluation, a build-or-buy decision, a proof of concept, a full build in Copilot Studio, pilot and beta testing with 50 early access users, and now into phased institutional scale-up.
Concept | November 2022
The release of ChatGPT prompted ORA leadership to explore whether artificial intelligence could support research administration.
Vendor Evaluation | 2023
ORA Conducted Build-or-buy analysis and evaluated vendor solutions.following the evaluation, decision was made to build in-house solution within Microsoft ecosystem.
Decision | October 2023
A business case was developed and project team formed. A Proof-of-concept was built in MS Azure, demonstrated internally, and sunset.
Complete |Fall 2025
The ORA virtual Assistant was fully developed in Copilot Studio, and the Knowledge base was launched.
Complete| Winter 2025–26
The SOT team conducted Internal testing testing to refine responses and expands knowledge base coverage.
Complete | Spring 2026
Pilot and beta testing were conducted with 50 early-access users. The first public demonstration was presented at the SOT Spring Training Conference.
Current phase | FY26
Phased expansion is underway. Access is expanding from early-access groups to broader adoption across the research administration community.
Next phase | FY26 to FY27
Continue expanding access while improving knowledge coverage, governance, and the overall user experience.
Future state | FY27
Full rollout across ORA and RAS. Access will be available to all research administrators, with enhanced integrations and workflow support.
Emory Contributions to AI in Research Administration
This section highlights Emory authored publications, presentations, workshops, and professional contributions focused on the use of artificial intelligence in research administration.
- Wilson, L. A., & Cheng, Y. (2025, October). Strategic integration of AI in research administration: An OKR operational approach for leaders. SRAI Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL
- Wilson, L. A. (2024, June 24). How to incorporate the use of AI in your research administrative operations. NCURA 2nd AI Symposium, Alexandria, VA
- Wilson, L. A. (2023, December 1). Unlocking opportunities: Leveraging generative AI in university-sponsored programs research administration. CUNY IT Conference, New York, NY
Invited National Presentations and Workshops
- Wilson, L. A. (2024, November 20). Fireside chat: AI in research administration. Notre Dame AI Forum, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN
- Wilson, L. A. (2026, February 16). Efficient research enterprise systems and AI strategies. NORDP REAL Cohort Speaker Series
Workshops and Working Group Contributions
- Wilson, L. A. (2024, October 24 and 31). Strategic integration of AI in research administration: Operational approaches for leaders. NORDP Fall Virtual Professional Development Series
- Wilson, L. A., Buoncuore, L., Cheng, Y., Gantt, K., Jafari, E., & Markin, K. (2024, June). AI in research administration: Survey results. NCURA AI and eRA Working Group