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Case Study

60 seconds to set up. Twelve days later? 1.5k students better served

Discover how the University of Glasgow tapped into the synergy of Gecko and the hottest thing in tech, ChatGPT, to turbocharge two unique chatbots.

60 seconds to set up. Twelve days later? 1.5k students better served

Imagine you’re a team manager with a star player consistently delivering above expectations and another member showing potential but not quite hitting the mark yet. Where would you channel your efforts for the best outcome? Boost the star even further? Or focus on the one lagging behind a bit?

This was more than a hypothetical for the University of Glasgow’s (UoG) admissions team. They faced this very problem with their chatbot roster. Enter Gecko x ChatGPT, the game-changing combination that promises to elevate both players.

Keith Hutchison
Gecko
The students are finding [our bot] such a useful tool. Their issues are getting instantly resolved, whereas before, it’d have been an email that bounced back and forward for a few days.
Gecko
Keith Hutchison
Applicant Experience and Enquiry Manager

The dynamic duo

  • Gilbert

UoG’s superstar chatbot, stands tall in the blue corner. Since bursting onto the scene in November 2020, Gilbert has gone toe-to-toe with students across almost 100k unique conversations, exchanged nearly a quarter-million messages with home and international users, and saved the admissions team a whopping estimated 9k hours! A stalwart with a message success rate hovering at ~93%, Gilbert owes his edge to the team’s tireless efforts to feed him dynamic data and train him on new content.

  • Short Courses Bot

This contender sits in the red corner. Though still a rookie and decidedly more niche, it holds its own. Since debuting in late 2021, it has shown glimpses of promise, making it the go-to source for questions about UoG’s short course offerings. Catering to a specific audience, it has interacted with thousands of students, saving hundreds of hours for a super resource-challenged team. Without clear training, questions about whether it’ll ever fully reach its potential are starting to be asked.

A Tailored Approach to Elevating the Game with Gecko x ChatGPT

With the distinct challenges and roles of Gilbert and the Short Courses Bot in mind, UoG realized a one-size-fits-all solution wouldn’t suffice. Enter Gecko’s ChatGPT integration, tailor-made for each bot’s unique needs.

  • For Gilbert, the ChatGPT solution was to go hybrid. While Gilbert continued to shine in his primary role, ChatGPT was called upon to address the gaps, picking up tricky questions that would have otherwise gone unanswered.
  • In contrast, the Short Courses Bot witnessed a more transformative shift. Given its managing team’s time constraints and stretched resources, ChatGPT was empowered to take complete control. From now on, all the Short Courses team has to do is keep their web pages updated!

Ready to deploy in under a minute, both approaches feed ChatGPT real-time info from Glasgow’s website for instant answers.

But the innovation doesn’t stop there. With Gecko’s recent ChatGPT revolution, UoG’s human agents monitoring live chat can leverage ChatGPT, producing “suggested answers”. Human agents can edit these suggestions before sending them timely, precise, and personalized responses.

Twelve days post-integration, both Gilbert and the Short Courses bot noted a substantial uptick in performance. Success rates climbed, and student feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

Keith Hutchison
Gecko
We switched our phones off. We have no call center at all. We have an enquiry page with information on how to visit us in person, how to use the chatbot, live chat and an enquiry form.
Gecko
Keith Hutchison
Applicant Experience and Enquiry Manager

The Verdict

After twelve days, the results were clear: the combined powers of Gecko and ChatGPT were a match made in tech heaven! This integration further bolstered Gilbert’s efficiency (93% to over 95%!) and instantly unlocked the Short Courses Bot’s potential, making it a genuine contender for Gilbert’s crown.

Some standout achievements include:

  • 📈 Successfully addressing over 1,300 questions that would have stumped the original bots.
  • 🌎 Multilingual versatility, understanding and replying to students in their native languages (including English, Hindi, Arabic, and Mandarin).
  • ⏱ Lightning-fast responses with an average time under 6 seconds.
  • 😍 a 17% increase in students rating their conversation as “great” or “amazing”.

Happier students, streamlined staff efforts, and significant gains—all from less than 60 seconds of setup? That’s a remarkable return on investment.

Keith Hutchison
Gecko
Feedback from the students [has shifted from] “It took me ages to get through…I hate your phone system.” [to] “Thank you so much! I’ve been trying to resolve this for days, and it’s been done on a live-chat in 5 minutes.” Everybody is so surprised at how successful it has been.
Gecko
Keith Hutchison
Applicant Experience and Enquiry Manager

Conclusion

The University of Glasgow’s journey with its chatbots is a testament to the power of innovation. By recognizing the strengths and potential areas of improvement in their tech stack and partnering with the right solution, the University continues to trailblaze in student engagement and service.

Glasgow’s success story offers a blueprint for other institutions looking to leap into AI-enhanced customer service: Invest in your assets, both the stars and those with potential, and witness their transformation with the right technological enhancements.

🔎 Want to see for yourself how quickly a Gecko GPT bot can be created to answer questions about your school? Visit ai.geckoengage.com and try it for free.