Case Study: The University of Auckland improves student support and self-service with IBM watsonx Assistant

The University of Auckland enhances student experience with IBM watsonx-powered chatbot

The University of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest university with about 46,000 students, faced a surge in student questions and rapidly changing information as it shifted to virtual learning during the pandemic. Limited search capabilities, plus language and cultural communication challenges, made it harder to provide timely, accurate support. IBM worked with the university and ElementX to address these issues using IBM watsonx Assistant and IBM Watson Discovery.

IBM implemented a tailored AI chatbot, the UoA Assistant, to handle repetitive queries, integrate with existing systems, and let staff update information quickly as circumstances changed. The solution improved first-time resolution by 40% and boosted the self-service-to-assisted-service ratio by 58%, while maintaining high satisfaction scores and handling over 90% of queries through self-service.

The University of Auckland