In an age where data reigns supreme, leveraging the cutting-edge capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) has become paramount for institutions of higher education and healthcare systems. The competition for qualified leads is fiercer than ever, demanding innovative approaches to outreach and engagement. AI, with its ability to sift through vast amounts of information and make data-driven decisions, is a game-changer in this regard.
You see, AI is all around us. In fact, the previous paragraph you just read was entirely crafted by ChatGPT.
We all know that generative AI can be used to write copy and draft emails, but its lead generation capacity is just as significant. AI can be practical and resourceful for higher education institutions, and the time to utilize it is now. Imagine your website becoming more user-friendly and interactive, and adapting to each student who visits it. Depending on the student’s interests, thanks to AI, your website can serve information to more easily capture their attention and leave a lasting impression.
AI Student Ambassador Chatbot
One of the numerous benefits of visiting a college campus is the opportunity to interact with student ambassadors. Learning a story from a friendly face can be just as convincing as any degree program the college offers.
Almost every website has a chatbot on their website for ease of use; however, they tend to be boring and not personalized. With the help of AI, you can create personas based on actual student ambassadors to make the chatbot function more unique. Offering a bunch of different ambassador options from different programs within the college enables prospective students to choose which ambassadors they want to chat with on the website. From an engineering student to a nursing student to a football player, each chatbot persona can be a unique experience to answer all questions.
If you’re interested in this idea, check out Zendesk!
AI Mascot
With the help of AI, your mascot can be brought to life digitally! Community and school pride are extremely important factors in the college decision process, so an animated and interactive mascot will surely WOW prospective students. Being welcomed to the college’s website with a greeting from the mascot will add a personal touch to the visitor’s experience and help your institution stand out. Similar to the AI student ambassador possibility, an AI mascot can answer questions about the college and encourage the prospective student to kick-start their application process.
It’s time to bring your mascot to life with Kajiwoto.ai!
AI-Powered Virtual Tour
Virtual tours can be boring and, frankly, gimmicky. Not to mention, buildings are hardly distinguishable when you are looking at a random brick building named after some guy you have never heard of. A customized virtual tour may be the solution to this issue.
By learning what the student may plan on studying or where they are from, virtual tours can be catered to appeal to who is looking at them. The other day, I was browsing through the UT Austin website and stumbled upon its virtual tour function (even though I am a senior, I still get lost on campus). Pretending like I was a prospective student, I inputted my intended major, high school, zip code, and other seemingly useless information. However, I was surprised to see parts of campus related to exactly what I am interested in show up on the screen! Curious, I decided to completely change my identity and pretend to be a man interested in studying biomedical engineering… and of course, I found myself looking at a new set of academic buildings! Seeing exactly where you would fit into a college campus is comforting, and AI can enable websites to provide this opportunity.
Want to create your virtual tour? Head over to Concept3D for more info!
AI Reputation Monitoring
Reputation is extremely important. No one wants their institution’s name to be dragged through the mud! It can be extremely hard to check all channels for mentions of your institution’s name and to manage it all. Looking through social media, news outlets, reviews, and other general mentions can take precious hours away from work time. Thankfully, AI can monitor your reputation on a grand scale faster than someone can do it individually. By checking all sources for any possible mention of your institution, a concise rating for your reputation can be curated instantaneously. With this newfound information, your institution can adapt and shift to fit the needs of your audience.
Ready for AI to monitor your reputation? Visit Auris for more details!
AI Email Campaigns
No one likes an email blast. It’s that simple. Not every piece of information applies to every person it’s sent to. Sooner or later, prospective students will unsubscribe from your email list if they become too bored with the information you are sending out. Trust me, you are not the only institution sending out an email about campus visits at 9 a.m. on a Monday.
On the flip side, what if every email a student receives has a new important message that applies directly to them? Each email draws them in a bit deeper and interests them a little more. With AI, a personalized email can be drafted and sent to each student. With different pictures, headlines, and even colors that may be more intriguing, an email can be crafted to specifically target the interests of a particular student. Not only can the email contain important information, but AI can also predict when the email will receive the most attention from the prospective student.
Hypotenuse AI can help you start to create AI-generated emails!
Facing the Future
AI will continue to integrate into our everyday lives… especially into the lives of the next generation of students. The landscape is constantly changing, and new AI tools are emerging every day. It’s hard to tell which tools will become the leader in their field, but by continuing to interact with them, AI will only continue to get better!
Who knows, maybe your AI-integrated institution could educate the next generation of AI developers!
Visit our Higher Education Specialties page to read more about Steel’s Higher Education Marketing Capabilities.
Based in Austin, Texas, Steel is a full-service integrated ad agency that uses a deep understanding of how families make purchase decisions to deliver brands that families love. In close partnership with our clients, Steel unites data, technology, creativity and influence to produce more stunning growth for brands in health, education, food, government and fun that serve the American family.
By: Kaiki Dolce and Abby Paganucci
