How to Choose an AI Platform for Your Hong Kong School

Most Hong Kong schools now have a few AI tools in use, often chosen one teacher at a time. Picking one platform for the whole school is a bigger decision. These are the questions worth asking any provider before you sign, and how to test the answers with a real class.

1. Start with what teachers will actually do

List three to five jobs your teachers want help with this term, such as preparing worksheets, giving essay feedback, revising for HKDSE papers or running a STEAM project. Then check that each job works inside the platform without exporting to another tool.

Ask the provider:

Which subjects and HKDSE papers have ready-made content, and which ones teachers build themselves?
Can teachers turn their own notes and worksheets into materials or tutors for students?
Does it work in English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese?

2. Check how students are kept safe

Students will type things into AI that they would never say in class. Find out what the teacher can see.

Can teachers see students' AI conversations, during the lesson and afterwards?
Are risky messages (self-harm, bullying, inappropriate content) flagged to a teacher, and how quickly?
Can the school set which AI models and features students may use?

3. Ask where school data goes

Under Hong Kong's Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO), the school stays responsible for its students' data. Ask for answers in writing:

Is school content ever used to train AI models?
Where is the data stored, and which AI providers receive it?
Will the provider sign a school agreement that names it as a data processor following the school's instructions?
If needed, can the AI run on the school's own servers?

4. Keep teachers in charge of AI marking

AI marking saves the most time, and it is also where trust is easiest to lose. A good set-up lets AI do the first round and the teacher make the final call.

Does the AI mark against your own marking scheme or rubric?
Can it read handwritten answers?
Do teachers review and edit marks before students see them?

5. Understand the real cost

Prices are hard to compare, because platforms count usage differently. Ask:

What is included per teacher and per student, and what costs extra?
How is AI usage counted (messages, credits or points), and what happens when it runs out?
Which AI models are included? Access to several models lets teachers pick the right one for each task.
Is there a free plan or a free trial for a pilot class?

6. Ask what training and support come with it

Teachers adopt a tool when someone shows them how it fits their subject, not just which buttons to press.

Is training face-to-face, online, or self-serve?
Who do teachers contact when something goes wrong in a lesson?
Will the provider help with open lessons, sharing sessions and student activities?

7. Check it fits your funding

Applications for the Education Bureau's AI for Empowering Learning and Teaching Funding Programme (『「智」啟學教』撥款計劃) closed on 28 February 2026. Funded schools need to deliver AI teaching in at least three subjects, run open lessons and sharing sessions, and submit interim and final reports. If you were funded, ask each provider how it helps you meet those commitments. See our ELTFP guide for the full requirements.

8. Run a fair pilot

A two to four week pilot tells you more than any demo.

Pick two or three teachers in different subjects, each with one class.
Agree on one task per teacher, for example one set of essays marked with AI or one revision unit taught with an AI tutor.
Use the same task on each platform you are comparing.
At the end, ask teachers how much time they saved and whether they trusted the output, and ask students whether it helped.

Where Zense AI fits

Zense AI is one option to include in your pilot. It is built in Hong Kong by Zense Technology Limited and combines Chat with GPT, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek and Qwen, teacher-built Tutors, Assignments with AI first-round marking (including handwriting), and Live class, where teachers see each student's AI chats and risky messages are flagged in real time. It follows the PDPO, and school content is never used to train AI models. Schools that need it can run private AI on their own servers, and face-to-face teacher training is available.

What to try next

Write down your three to five teacher jobs from section 1 before you speak to any provider.
Compare plans on our pricing page.
To pilot Zense AI with your own materials, email enquiry@zenseai.io or call +852 5328 1381.