Case Study: SOLAS achieves faster learner support and a 50% drop in queries with IBM watsonx Assistant

SOLAS helps adult learners get rapid answers through AI

SOLAS, the Irish government agency behind the fetchcourses.ie website, wanted to make it easier for adult learners to find further education and training courses while reducing repetitive support requests. Working with IBM and SureSkills, SOLAS explored an AI-powered virtual assistant to handle common website questions and guide users more effectively.

IBM implemented IBM watsonx Assistant to power the virtual assistant, “Dave,” which was trained on the most frequent learner queries and routed more complex issues to human support. The result was a 50% reduction in incoming queries, freeing up skilled IT staff and saving potentially hundreds of hours annually, while improving the website experience for learners.

SOLAS

Paddy Seery

Director IT and Digital