From Chatbots to AI Agents: The Next Leap in Campus Automation

Higher education has rapidly adopted chatbots to improve student and staff interactions, and the next evolution is already here. AI agents go beyond conversation to take action: completing tasks, orchestrating workflows, and making context-aware decisions across campus systems. This session introduces the concept of AI agents and demonstrates how they differ from traditional chatbots and RPA. Attendees will explore real-world use cases in HR, finance, and student services where AI agents can autonomously execute multistep processes such as onboarding, ticket resolution, and data validation. Through a live architecture walkthrough and practical examples, this session will show how institutions can leverage existing systems (e.g., ERP, ITSM) alongside modern AI capabilities to build scalable, secure, and governed agent-driven workflows without requiring a full system overhaul.