Getting Started
Welcome to Iris, your AI-powered virtual tutor inside Artemis. This page walks you through the initial setup and helps you find Iris across the platform.
Choosing Your AI Experience
The first time you encounter Iris in a course, you will be asked to choose your preferred AI experience. You can change this at any time in your account settings.
Cloud (Recommended)
Uses cloud-hosted language models (such as GPT-4o) via European Azure servers with a data processing agreement in place. This option generally offers higher response quality and more advanced reasoning capabilities. Your data is not used for model training. The exact cloud provider may vary depending on your institution's deployment.
On-Premise (Experimental)
Uses an open-source model running entirely on your institution's own infrastructure. No data leaves the university network. This is ideal if maximum data locality is important to you, but be aware that response quality may be lower compared to cloud models.
No AI
Opt out of AI-powered features entirely. You will not see Iris chat interfaces in your courses. You can switch back to Cloud or On-Premise at any time.
Not sure which to pick? Start with Cloud for the best experience. You can always switch later.
Where to Find Iris
Iris must be enabled by your instructor for a given course before it appears. Once enabled, it shows up in several places throughout Artemis, each tailored to a different context.
| Location | How to Open | What It Does |
|---|---|---|
| Course Chat | Course sidebar | General-purpose assistant for the entire course — lecture questions, topic explanations |
| Exercise Chat | Floating Iris icon (bottom-right) while working on an exercise | Context-aware help with your specific exercise, code, and build results |
| Text Exercise Chat | Floating Iris icon while working on a text exercise | Guidance on structuring and improving written submissions |
| Lecture Chat | Floating Iris icon while viewing a lecture | Questions about the specific lecture slides and materials |
For details on each chat type, see the dedicated pages: Course Chat, Exercise Chat, Text Exercise Chat, and Lecture Chat.
Your First Interaction
- Open a chat — navigate to a course and click on the Iris icon or open the course chat from the sidebar.
- Type your question — be as specific as you can. For example, "Can you explain the difference between a stack and a queue?" works better than just "Help me."
- Read the response — Iris may include numbered citation markers that link back to lecture slides or other course materials. Hover over them to see the source.
- Follow up — use the follow-up suggestion buttons below the response, or type a new question to continue the conversation.
Check out Tips for Effective Use for more advice on getting the most out of Iris.
Enabling Memory
During the AI experience selection, you can also enable Iris Memory. When active, Iris remembers your learning preferences and past interactions across conversations to provide more personalized support over time. Learn more on the Memory page.
Next Steps
- Course Chat — ask questions about lectures and course topics
- Exercise Chat — get help while working on programming exercises
- How Iris Helps You Learn — understand the pedagogical approach behind Iris