jill, georgia institute of technology
Georgia Tech's Jill Watson started out as a surprising addition to a graduate AI course in 2016: a teaching assistant who turned out to be an AI chatbot.
Trained on years of student questions, Jill responded to repetitive queries about assignments and deadlines with 97% accuracy. The students didn't realize that Jill wasn't human until their computer science teacher revealed the software to them when the term ended.
By handling thousands of routine questions, Jill freed up human TAs to focus on meaningful tutoring: students were better able to get the help they needed when repetitive questions could be directed to the chatbot.
Cara, from the university of galway
Screenshot of "ask face" on a laptop screen and conversation on a smartphone whatsapp.
The cara virtual assistant, from the university of galway.
"I feel alone."
"I lost my ID card."
"where is ac201?"
These are just some of the questions that University of Galway students can ask Cara, their school's virtual assistant.
Cara is active 24/7 and acts as the first stop for any information about students. Students use faces for any information, while administrators study chatbot analytics to spot trends:
If they see an increase in questions about the qatar phone numbers availability of counseling, they can allocate more time to counselors.
If they see a new group asking where the auditorium is, they can take action by improving the signage.
Georgia State University Pounce
Originally designed to help incoming students manage finances, enrollment, and the transition to college, Georgia State University's Pounce now also supports academic achievement directly within courses.
Students who received personalized reminders and support through pounce were much more likely to earn better grades, and first-generation students improved their grades by 11 points on average.
In 2021, Georgia State expanded pounce capabilities to specific interventions in the Political Science 1101 course.
Students received specific text messages about assignments, practice tests, and exam preparation. The use of pounce resulted in a 16% increase in students' grades of good or better.
First-generation and lower-achieving students especially thrived, attending supplemental classes more frequently and completing more credits per semester.
