The 2025 Academic Event Professional (AEP) conference kicks off this February and 42Chat is thrilled to introduce Professor – AEP’s official conference A.I. chatbot. Designed to enhance the attendee experience, Professor will answer questions, provide meaningful engagement and save event organizers valuable time.
More than a virtual assistant, Professor will be an integral part of the AEP 2025 conference experience, leveraging conversational A.I. to connect attendees with the information they need, right when they need it.
The AEP conference is a unique opportunity to engage with decision-makers from leading academic institutions across the U.S. and abroad. With Professor on board, this year’s conference organizers can focus on creating purposeful connections while leaving the heavy lifting of attendee support to A.I.
A.I. driven solutions can deliver instant engagement, streamline operations, and create a personalized attendee experience for events and conferences. But the AEP 2025 conference isn’t the only example of A.I. chatbots being used by higher ed institutions or organizations that support them. When you think of universities using chatbots, you might think about using A.I. tools for admissions outreach or graduation ceremonies, but their potential stretches far beyond those use cases.
We’ll walk you through what a chatbot is and how today’s universities and educational facilities are using chatbots to improve communication, coordinate events and conferences, and enhance overall operational efficiency.
What Is a Chatbot?
Let's first take a look at what a chatbot is and how it works. A chatbot is an A.I.-powered tool designed to deliver instant, automated responses to user questions. Whether through SMS, web, or app-based communication, chatbots are becoming indispensable across industries – including higher education. They can handle repetitive tasks, deliver real-time information, and free up human staff for more complex responsibilities.
For universities, chatbots like 42Chat’s GradBot and ConferenceBot can be game-changers. They enhance communication and make sure students, faculty and event attendees get the information they need, exactly when they need it.
But it’s important to understand the difference between a curated A.I. chatbot and a generative A.I. chatbot. Curated A.I. chatbots use A.I. to extract the need from a question and deliver a pre-defined and approved response. Generative A.I. chatbots, on the other hand, also extract the need – but they “generate” a unique response based on the model’s training, which means their answers are constantly changing, and you can’t guarantee they’re correct.
You can think of curated A.I. chatbots, like those from 42Chat, as super-smart team members who are trained to respond exactly the way you want, every time. They are precise, reliable and secure – and your valuable constituent data is protected within a closed-loop system. In contrast, think of generative A.I. chatbots as improvisational storytellers who can create narratives and handle unstructured tasks – but are prone to errors and hallucinations and your data is used in their training.
Curated A.I. chatbots are your best option when facts matter and you need a > 95% correct response rate.
How Universities Are Using Chatbots
Planning successful institutional events or managing university inquiries means juggling a lot of moving parts – from answering endless questions to sending timely reminders to the right people. This is where chatbots come in. For example, some universities use A.I.-powered chatbots to enhance the guest experience at conferences and events. Chatbots can also help university staff streamline menial tasks such as:
- answering FAQs in real-time
- sending reminders about deadlines, sessions or events
- personalizing communication for students and other event attendees
Here’s a case in point: a ConferenceBot that one of America’s most prestigious universities used for a 2024 symposium, demonstrated the power of this technology by boasting the following:
- engaging 181 attendees
- saving 125 staff hours by answering 578 inquiries
- sending and receiving 2,451 messages throughout the conference
Attendees could ask the bot anything from, "Where do I park?" to, "What time does registration open?" The result? Happier attendees and a more productive staff.
Attendee feedback reinforces the ConferenceBot’s value, with participants praising the smooth experience and the bot’s helpfulness. One attendee even remarked, "This was such an informative and inspirational experience."
Want to see how chatbots can transform your university? Contact Us to experience how instant engagement and 24/7 support can improve satisfaction and save time.
Arizona State University’s GradBot Success
Other universities are harnessing the power of A.I. chatbots to improve commencement ceremonies. At Arizona State University (ASU), managing the graduation experience for thousands of students is a complex task. ASU’s GradBot, Tassel, has revolutionized the graduation process by providing 24/7 automated support to students, making sure no question goes unanswered.
Here’s what Tassel achieved for just one graduation in 2024:
- Connected with over 10,000 graduating students and guests
- Achieved a 96% correct response rate across more than 72 topics
- Exchanged over 230,000 messages leading up to and during commencement
- Received over 9,000 click-throughs to the livestream and 5,000 for graduation photos
ASU’s success using Tassel showcases how chatbots can scale to meet the needs of large institutions, delivering personalized experiences while optimizing operational efficiency.
Read the full ASU case study here to learn more about how GradBot transformed the graduation experience for students and attendees.
Why Universities Should Invest in Chatbots
From admissions offices to conferences like AEP 2025, chatbots are revolutionizing the way universities operate. Key benefits include:
- reducing staff workload by automating routine questions
- improving student and event attendee satisfaction with instant, personalized communication
- driving engagement through timely notifications and reminders
- increasing click-through rates with high-value content and offers
With tools like ConferenceBot and GradBot, higher ed institutions can deliver meaningful experiences to their students, alumni and communities while focusing their “people power” on more complex tasks.
Ready to elevate your university’s operations? Visit our GradBot page to explore A.I. solutions that work for higher education.
Attending AEP 2025 this February?
Send a text to 1-833-334-0622 or scan the QR Code to connect with Professor – the conference’s official A.I. chatbot!
