Ocelot Publishes Inaugural AI Communications Benchmark Study for Higher Education

October 05, 2021

BOULDER, CO – Ocelot, higher education’s leading AI-Powered Student Engagement and Smart Communication SaaS Platform, announced today the publication of its inaugural AI Communications Benchmark Study for Higher Education.

The inaugural 2021 AI Communications Benchmark Study mines data from nearly 10 million anonymized AI interactions with students and parents. The data surfaces student attitudes and behaviors, and can assist in the development of appropriate strategies to serve and support students.

"This first-of-its-kind report is an eye-opener" says Damon Vangelis, Founder at Ocelot. "Because of Ocelot's unique and proprietary approach to AI, we have access to incredible insights. Student behavior, the most pressing topics, etc. We are able to drill down on this data and share these insights with Ocelot clients. It's been very interesting to see the differences across key college segments: Community Colleges, 4-Year Publics, and 4-Year Privates."

Data from the report indicates AI communications are becoming a "go to" across college campuses – both physical and virtual. This trend is driven both by students' changing communication preferences and the need to extend human support to after hours with virtual advising tools.

Ocelot data reveals that a meaningful percentage of all student interactions occur during the "The 3rd Shift" (time outside of traditional office hours). Students are tackling many critical tasks outside of the traditional 9 am – 5 pm work environment. AI communications are providing answers to a variety of questions during this time.

While the core drivers of AI communications are the same across segments (Community Colleges, 4-Year Public and 4-Year Private institutions), Ocelot data indicates that there are differences in how students use this technology both in terms of the problems they are trying to solve and when it is leveraged.

Notable findings from the report:

• AI student interactions have increased roughly 3-5x week over week since the beginning of 2020
• 38% of AI conversations occur off-hours (5pm – 9am)
• The top topics students are interested in include: Admissions, Registrar, Financial Aid + Billing, Academics/Advising and COVID (Coronavirus).

To learn more, download a copy of the report here or visit www.ocelotbot.com.

About Ocelot

Ocelot is higher education's #1 AI Student Engagement Platform serving over 7 million students at 465+ institutions. The Ocelot platform combines text campaigns for student outreach, AI + live chat for student support, and an unrivaled knowledgebase of content – including thousands of video explainers and text Q&A – that answered 4.2 million questions in 2020 alone. By using Ocelot, colleges and universities can reach every student, answer every question, and ensure students and families can be guided through all aspects of the student lifecycle and address enrollment, persistence, and access challenges. Visit ocelotbot.com to learn more.