University of Alaska Anchorage Launches “Spirit,” a Financial Aid Chatbot, Powered by Ocelot

Spirit Provides Students with Self-Service 24/7/365 at the Financial Aid Office, Saving Staff Time and Improving Customer Service.

Ocelot’s Extensive Knowledgebase and Video Library provided the University of Alaska, Anchorage with an Unrivaled Starting Point for Customization, enabling easy maintenance.

BOULDER, CO – Ocelot, the nation’s largest Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider of multi-lingual Artificially Intelligent chatbots and videos to higher education, announced today that a new school has launched a conversational chatbot on its easy-to-use platform.

University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) is the latest institution to take advantage of Ocelot’s extensive knowledge base and unrivaled library of online video content to launch their own chatbot.

Sonya Stein, a former Financial Aid Director at UAA who oversaw the deployment of Spirit, said, “Our staff and students love our Chatbot! Students appreciate being able to ask questions outside of normal business hours and with the built-in reporting, we can easily see they’re relying on it after 5PM.”

Stein continued: “The implementation of the Chatbot was surprisingly fast and easy, we were up and running in just a few weeks. The maintenance portal is very intuitive and easy to navigate, plus the reporting metrics are relevant, informative, and very helpful in showing administration how “in demand” financial aid information is. Lastly, I have to give kudos to the staff at Ocelot. They were always incredibly responsive, helpful, and accommodating. Whenever questions arose, they were quick to assist and offer assistance. The Chatbot was an excellent investment in student service. UAA really is thrilled with the product and outcomes.”

“Our unique chatbot platform is enabling schools like the University of Alaska to build powerful chatbots with little-to-no IT resources,” said Kevin O’Shea, Ocelot’s Chief Technology Officer. “Our extensive knowledge base and video library provide an unrivaled starting point for customization, with enterprise-grade Natural Language Understanding technology ensuring users can quickly find the answers they need.”

School chatbots built on Ocelot’s platform are mobile-friendly, WCAG AA 2.0 accessible, and can be deployed across student service departments and One-Stops.

Schools choose to build chatbots on Ocelot’s Chatbot platform in order to:

  • Support Enrollment and Retention Initiatives
  • Improve Customer Service
  • Reduce Phone Calls and Wait Times
  • Replace Live Chat services or supplement them after-hours
  • Support Student Self-Service
  • Ensure Consistency of Answers
  • Save Staff Time
  • Promote Financial Literacy/Debt Education

To schedule a demo of Ocelot, please call 1-888-704-9090 or visit ocelotbot.com to learn more.

About Ocelot

Founded in 2003, Ocelot (formerly known as FATV) is the nation’s largest SaaS provider of Multilingual Artificially Intelligent Chatbots to higher education. The customizable Ocelot platform includes an unrivaled knowledge base of content, including over 16,000 knowledge base Q&A, and over 2,000 explainer videos. Ocelot answers over 97.5% of chatbot interactions without the need for human intervention with over 40% of conversations conducted after standard business hours. Schools deploy Ocelot to improve enrollment yield and retention, support student services, and further financial literacy/debt education. Visit ocelotbot.com to learn more.

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