In Summer 2023, we tailored a suite of AI-based software tools in CS1 at our university and deployed those tools to 70 students in a summer offering of the same, followed by thousands of students online. We allowed students by policy to use the course’s tools but not off-the-shelf alternatives like ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, or the new Bing. Our goal was to approximate through software a 1-to-1 teacher-to-student ratio, equipping students with a pedagogically-minded subject-matter expert by their side at all times. We share in this work how the AI tools explained highlighted lines of code, improved students’ code style, and answered both content and administrative questions on a course’s discussion forum with 88% and 77% accuracy, respectively. The tools themselves were received positively by students, who noted they felt like they had “a personal tutor,” whereas tools like ChatGPT “would have definitely detracted from learning.” We present what we did and why we did it and offer recommendations for others’ adoption of generative AI.