Omaha Firms Share AI Adoption Strategies at UNO Panel

Leaders from several Omaha companies discussed how they are deploying artificial intelligence tools in their organizations during a university-hosted panel.

Updated on Nov. 12, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence

Vector editorial illustration of stacked server racks in a plain data hall with one open door and a flat horizon beyond, evoking the infrastructure behind workplace AI adoption. — Several Omaha employers, including Union Pacific and Omaha Public Power District, shared how they are deploying AI tools and setting governance rules at a University of Nebraska at Omaha panel. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Representatives from Omaha Public Power District, Union Pacific, Tenaska, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska, and Lovelytics took part in a roughly 90-minute panel hosted by the University of Nebraska at Omaha's executive MBA program. The discussion focused on how local companies are bringing AI into everyday work.

Why it matters

The panel offers a view of how large Omaha employers are setting governance rules and building internal tools as AI becomes part of routine operations. Companies are weighing how to use these systems responsibly while protecting sensitive data.

Union Pacific built an internal chatbot called "Ask Rita" to help employees find answers, and OPPD runs Microsoft's Copilot inside a government tenant for security. Performance metrics and usage figures for either tool were not disclosed in the panel summary.

The players

Omaha Public Power District

OPPD is a public power utility serving the Omaha area that introduced Microsoft Copilot to employees under an acceptable-use policy.

Union Pacific

Union Pacific is a major freight railroad headquartered in Omaha that built the internal "Ask Rita" chatbot.

University of Nebraska at Omaha

The University of Nebraska at Omaha is a public university whose executive MBA program hosted the AI panel.

The details

Panelists described internal deployments ranging from Union Pacific's employee-facing chatbot to Omaha Public Power District's Copilot rollout, which came with an acceptable-use policy for AI tools. The discussion was moderated by Xzavier Ozuna of Star Sleep & Wellness.

The panel took place in November 2026, with the article published November 12, 2026.
The core event occurred November 10, 2026.

Roadmap

Omaha employers are following a governance-first pattern, with OPPD's acceptable-use policy setting rules before wider deployment. Union Pacific's internal chatbot shows how legacy institutional knowledge can be encoded into AI tools.

Employees at Omaha companies may increasingly find AI assistants built into internal systems, with governance policies defining what tools they can use. Workers should check their own employer's acceptable-use rules before using AI tools for work tasks.

The takeaway

Responsible AI use in the workplace starts with clear rules about which tools are approved and how they handle data. Employees should understand their company's policy before relying on any AI assistant.