Optimizing student experience with a chatbot

Right from the beginning, Lisa proved to be quite popular. After even one month, she replied to approximately 38.000 questions - which were more than 66.000 messages - asked by around 7.000 users. Only 3% of these questions were unanswered by the virtual assistant. Luckily, the Oswald platform allows for human takeover, which means the contact center can take over from Lisa when necessary.

Students and future applicants can consult Lisa via Odisee’s website or Facebook Messenger. The digital companion works instantly and is capable of answering questions concerning Odisee Hogeschool in a natural conversation context.

Youngsters often come in contact with chatbots these days, so using Lisa comes very naturally to them. Students don’t need to look for the information of the contact center to call them or wait for their answer via mail anymore. By simply using the Facebook Messenger app on their smartphones, they can chat with Lisa directly and get their answer in a jiffy.

We notice that many facilities such as universities and schools are dealing with many ‘customers’ and therefore, many questions. Most questions are simple FAQs: a high number is about registration and administration, such as the enrollment process, conditions, costs, or opening hours.

These many questions can quickly rise to thousands of questions. As a consequence, virtual assistants are booming in education. At Raccoons, we’re in the process of expanding Lisa’s family as we are developing her sister, Vera, for Syntra learning center’s trainees.