How UCT used EduBot to serve 43 600 students in 90 days

How UCT used EduBot to serve 43 600 students in 90 days.

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When students kept asking to “speak to a human”, UCT knew the first-generation, rule-based version of EduBot had reached its limits. By upgrading with AI, they transformed student engagement while keeping accuracy a top priority.

The University of Cape Town had every reason to be proud of this new tool in its student support toolkit. As South Africa’s premier research institution serving approximately 30 000 students, UCT’s rule-based chatbot was already demonstrating strong performance.

In its previous iteration as a rule-based system, the UCT chatbot had processed over 6.8 million messages from 277 000 unique users with an impressive 84% self-service resolution rate. But the analytics revealed a telling problem: “I want to speak to a human” consistently ranked in the top five student queries.

Despite strong performance metrics, students were growing frustrated with static, scripted responses. Students wanted natural conversation, not menu navigation. One would later reflect, after the upgrade: “Compared to January, the chatbot now understands many things better and can connect to agents. Great improvement, keep it up!”

As a SIS Global client since 2021, UCT faced a classic technology dilemma: its dependable system was becoming a barrier to the rising expectations of digital-native students.

At this stage in tool development, UCT’s biggest concern wasn’t performance; it was accuracy. UCT's menu-based system guaranteed reliability because every response was carefully scripted by staff. Replacing this tightly controlled system with AI raised real concerns about maintaining high standards for student information.

The challenge wasn’t to abandon its successful foundation, but to build on it. How could UCT keep the reliability of rule-based responses while adding the conversational flexibility students were demanding?

Meanwhile, the system was creating strain behind the scenes. Staff were constantly adding and maintaining questions, knowing the bot could only provide a limited set of responses. It worked at first, but scaling this approach was becoming increasingly difficult.

The reliability vs flexibility challenge.

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After extensive collaboration and testing, UCT made the decision to upgrade to AI on 28 May 2025. Rather than replacing its established system, the AI enhancement built on proven infrastructure that students already knew and trusted.

EduBot was trained on comprehensive institutional knowledge, including official documents, student resources and website content. This ensured accuracy and relevance across a wide range of queries while requiring minimal staff effort. Staff only needed to provide data sources and links, which EduBot processed into accurate responses.

The system’s multilingual capabilities supporting over 100 languages meant UCT’s diverse international student body could access help in their preferred language. As one student would later note: “I liked the fact that you were able to interact with me in my mother’s language.“

By working closely with UCT throughout testing and implementation, the upgrade maintained the university’s high standards for accuracy while delivering the conversational flexibility students had been requesting.

The AI upgrade directly addressed the core issue: students no longer needed to ask for human help as frequently. Within 90 days, the results were clear:

UCT Edubot statistics.

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Massive scale and impact

• 43 600 unique users engaged.
• 245 000 AI-powered answers delivered.
• 19 messages per conversation on average – indicating the deep, meaningful interactions students had been seeking.

Operational excellence

• The transformation in efficiency was dramatic. The percentage of students requesting human assistance dropped from 11% before AI (August 2021 – 27 May 2025) to just 8% in the first 90 days after launch (28 May – late August 2025).
• This represents a 28% reduction in human handoff requests.
• Live chat requests fell from 6% to 3.3%.
• Support ticket submissions decreased from 6% to 4.7%.

Most remarkably, 93% of users had their questions answered without requiring human intervention. As Dr Riashna Sithaldeen, project lead at UCT, confirms: “The AI upgrade has reduced routine questions so that staff can now deal with complex cases.”

After receiving 3 823 user ratings, EduBot achieved a 4.8/5 star rating and 97% satisfaction score. The feedback consistently highlighted speed, accuracy and ease of use:

• “This chatbot is very helpful and I am extremely satisfied.”
• “I’m so impressed with the immediate response to all my questions with thorough explanations. Your service is exquisite.”
• “Very helpful and informative. Saves time sifting through the main website by yourself.”

Some students were so delighted, they wished they could rate it even higher:

• “I would have rated a million stars if it was possible.”
• “I could even give 10 if I could”

The verdict from students.

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EduBot’s impact extended far beyond office hours:

• 65 different languages detected and supported.
• 59% of messages sent outside regular office hours.
• 6 000 international students successfully supported.

The system particularly excelled in supporting UCT’s core user groups:

• 28 372 prospective undergraduate students (65% of users).
• 7 691 prospective post-graduate students.
• 6 000 international students.
• Current students across all academic levels.

While the numbers are impressive, the transformation runs deeper. UCT now operates a support tool that provides immediate, accurate assistance to thousands of students daily, including comprehensive after-hours coverage when human agents aren’t available.

The shift represents a fundamental change from reactive support to proactive, always-available assistance. Nearly all student queries receive instant resolution, while the few requiring human intervention are handled more efficiently than ever before.

EduBot’s multilingual capabilities ensure that UCT’s diverse, international student body receives equitable support regardless of linguistic background – a critical factor for a truly inclusive institution.

“UCT’s experience shows that AI does not need to compromise accuracy to deliver a better student experience. By layering AI onto trusted institutional knowledge, UCT was able to scale natural, meaningful support to tens of thousands of students while maintaining the high standards they are known for. This is a practical example of how AI can reduce pressure on staff while improving access and satisfaction for students” – Mitchell Hawley, Founder and Managing Director, Verge AI

Building on this success, UCT is already exploring ways to expand EduBot’s reach:

• Short courses for lifelong learners: Extending AI support to continuing education programmes.
• Faculty-wide deployment: Piloting AI chatbots for entire academic faculties.
• Staff support systems: Experimenting with AI-powered internal support tools.

The success of the admissions-focused AI chatbot has created a foundation for university-wide digital transformation.

The foundation for campus-wide transformation.

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The verdict: When students speak, innovation follows

UCT’s careful approach to AI implementation proved that accuracy concerns could be successfully managed while dramatically improving the student experience. The 4.8/5 star rating and 97% satisfaction score demonstrate that students didn’t just accept the AI upgrade – they embraced it enthusiastically.

The evolution from rigid menu navigation to natural language conversation represents exactly what modern students expect from their institutions. UCT’s success shows that the question isn’t whether to adopt AI, but how to implement it thoughtfully while maintaining institutional standards.

For UCT, embracing AI has delivered measurable improvements in efficiency, satisfaction and accessibility, while positioning the university at the forefront of educational technology innovation. 

Ready to transform your student support like UCT?

UCT’s journey from rule-based limitations to AI-powered excellence demonstrates what’s possible when institutions embrace intelligent technology while maintaining their commitment to quality.