How AI and chatbots can power institutional and student success

Q&A with Daniel Woodcock, Director, Product Management, Blackboard
Daniel Woodcock, Director, Product Management, Blackboard

Why are more institutions using chatbots and AI to respond to a variety of support requests?

Institutions are utilizing chatbots to respond to support requests due to a number of factors:

  • Budgets and resources are continuing to face constraints for support departments, causing institutions to have to do more with less
  • Support requests continue to rise, especially during COVID-19
  • Support requests are often repetitive, or could be resolved easily with a Frequently Asked Questions guide
  • The need to provide 24/7 support as students operate in an online capacity and interact with more technology across the institution

What are some of the benefits to institutions and their user communities from using chatbots in this capacity?

Institutions who adopt chatbots can provide impactful results fast. At Blackboard, we’ve launched a number of chatbots where we’ve seen tremendous impact from:

  • An average of 30% of support interactions being handled by the bot. This frees up a significant amount of time for the support staff to focus on strategic objectives or more complex inquiries.
  • The chatbot answers and responds in a matter of seconds. An end user doesn’t have to be put on hold for a long period of time or have to go through complex methods of getting support. The chatbot quickly addresses the support need.
  • The chatbot is answering at all times of the day, resulting in reduced burden for support staff to answer questions the next day and improving the end user experience as their inquiry is answered in the moment of need.

Why is it beneficial to have a chatbot be integrated into the LMS?

A chatbot integrated within the LMS provides an institution with the ability to provide support within the application. Often, end users have difficulty finding the support they need in the online environment, and this can result in students contacting the instructor for help, who often feels unequipped to provide the technical assistance needed. The bot within the LMS gives an easier venue for students and faculty to get the support they need, and with a customized and personalized experience.

Why should institutions consider migrating to a SaaS-based LMS?

A SaaS-based LMS helps to provide a more reliable, secure, and up-to-date learning management system for institutions. As a SaaS-based institution, you get updates regularly to the environment that enhance the teaching and learning experience.

How can schools better leverage technology and AI to power institutional and student success?

Technology continues to be crucial when it comes to institutional and student success. Whether it is engaging prospective and current students with the power of data and artificial intelligence, or gaining powerful insights into the effectiveness of teaching and learning strategies, an AI-enabled institution will reap significant benefits of success for students and the institution as a whole.

To learn more, go to Blackboard.com/services

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