How this university uses a chatbot to answer COVID-19 questions – University Business
Iowa State University provides crucial information about the coronavirus and how it is affecting campus operations using artificial intelligence
Iowa State University has embedded a higher ed chatbot named Cy into six department websites that answers student and faculty questions about the coronavirus.
“So, someone could ask the chatbot a question about how the coronavirus is affecting financial aid on the veteran center website and still receive the right information,” says Darcie Sprouse, a University Innovation Alliance fellow. “It’s one big knowledge base.”
This university chatbot from Ocelot came with 13 general questions and answers about the coronavirus in addition to the ability to create custom queries and responses.
“For example, we created a question about how the coronavirus has impacted travel or classes at Iowa State,” says Sprouse. “Ocelot crafted the questions and answers for us and then asked us to approve or edit them.”