Leveraging Our Institution's AI Chatbot to Promote Self-Advising and Pathway Exploration

The 23 colleges that make up the Virginia Community College System serve nearly 125,000 users each year in an AI chatbot. While many of the chat sessions involve a quick answer to a short question, some colleges in the system seek to leverage the new generative functionality of Gideon Taylor’s Ida bot to help students prepare for their advising sessions. In the summer of 2025, several colleges ingested content around careers, majors, pathways, and program requirements into the chatbot with the intention of connecting students to the right advisor AND help them get some basic questions answered before their advising session. Presenters will walk through the functionality of the chatbot and how it allows students to begin exploring the options available, which can facilitate decision-making and improve the quality and efficiency of their first advisor meeting. Presenters will also review key integrations with the chatbot (Canvas, Salesforce, PeopleSoft) that provide a seamless handoff to college services and guide participants through the data-driven decision-making that these integrations can provide.