image via UIUC Gies College of Business
Taking on a learning journey is not a trivial task. Unlike most other AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, which support only simple information retrieval via one-turn question and answering (QnA), this demo AI chatbot showcases how AI can guide/advise both prospective and existing students based on their unique situations beyond simple QnA. Click on the avatar below to experience its advising and QnA capabilities.
Below list several examples of AI-powered student advising for both prospective and existing students. Try these use cases yourself.
Even better, any non-IT staff member can rapidly set up and manage such an AI assistant customized to their programs with #NOCODE or no IT required.
Help me decide on a Business Major. Just like many prospective high schoolers, Matt wants to study business but isn't sure whether UIUC has business majors that suit him. He is asking for guidance to obtain personalized suggestions, which cannot be effectively addressed by a simple answer or a website link. Try it yourself to see what suggestions you may receive.
Help me with my financial situation. Mary, an existing student, is worried about her financial situation. In particular, she is struggling with managing her finance since every cost is rising and her savings is shrinking. So she came to Alma, asking for help. Alma actively listens to Mary and then provides relevant options and resources to guide her, just like a human counselor would do but perhaps could not do so for every student 24x7. Try this path by presenting your hypothetic financial situation, e.g., losing a part-time job or unexpected medical expense, and see how Alma would help you.
Take an AI interview Emma, a prospective student, has applied for UIUC Gies School of Business. Just like every university/college aims at finding prospective students who are a best fit with their programs to improve student retention and success, Alma can help UIUC "interview" applicants like Emmato objectively assess applicant-program fit to aid Admissions decision making. Pretend to be "a prospective student", then select "Take an AI interview".
Similar to other chatbots, this demo chatbot ingested several UIUC webpages, such as this UIUC Gies webpage, and can use the ingested information to answer questions. For example, ask "Who is the new dean of Gies" or "what are the majors does Gies offer".
This function is known as RAG-based QnA that most companies support. Unfortunately, the AI chatbot will hallucinate due to the nature of RAG that you might have noticed from the answer.
This is also why Juji puts in multiple AI safety guardrails to prevent such AI hallucinations.
To test different student workflows (e.g., for prospective vs. current student flow), you can click on the icon "Start a new session", located on the top left of the window next to "X" to start a new session.
This AI chatbot is meant to be used as a demo and does not have all functions.