Western New England University’s newest staff member is working around the clock to check in on students and instantly connect them with the campus resources they need. Luckily, no human is losing any sleep. Spirit, the university’s generative AI chatbot, is entering its second full academic year of fielding mobile text messages from students. Over the past 12 months, machine and man exchanged over 17,000 messages, with students initiating over 2,200 questions. “Sometimes it’s challenging to go find a staff member in some random building, but messaging the chatbot ensures that their voice is going to be heard,” says Jeanne Powers, executive director of the Student Hub, the university’s student support center.
