Once live, continue to help your chatbot grow with these best practices. 


1. Monitor the IDKs

  • Set aside 10-15 minutes per week to monitor the IDKs ("I Don't Knows”) and add new questions that the chatbot should be able to answer. 
    • How do you find those IDKs?!? In the admin, head over to the Interactions area and filter by Response Type

  •  Choose “IDK” to review the interactions that the bot could not answer.

  • Once you find an IDK that the chatbot should be able to answer (content supported by your contracted departments), open the interaction and add a response.


  • ¡El chatbot puede hablar español! When reviewing the Interactions, watch for other languages and content related to additional departments. Let us know what you find … we have content for many other departments and translations for languages beyond English (currently Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Vietnamese).


2. Monitor your FAQ themes

  • Monitor your incoming calls/emails and watch for new FAQ themes that should be added to the chatbot’s knowledge base. 

  • Test your chatbot prior to customizing the content. 

  • If your chatbot answers the question correctly, gives relevant suggestions, and/or search results from your website that answer the question, the chatbot is functioning well and no further action is needed. Call it good!

  • If an IDK ("I Don't Know") response occurs for a question that the chatbot is designed to answer (i.e. content related to the areas set up in the contract: Admissions, Financial Aid, etc.), then you can add a new custom question so that the chatbot answers that question in the future. Consider the following before adding new custom questions:

  • Prioritize topics over comprehensive details. You do not need to add every possible version of the IDK into your custom questions. Let the AI do the work. Add one main new question that addresses what the chatbot was not answering and let the AI do the rest.

  • Let the AI do the heavy lifting. It is strong. For the most part, you’ll want to avoid using the exact wording of the IDK. While many search terms and keywords will produce answers, the chatbot is not designed to be a query for search terms. Therefore, Jeopardy rules apply: all custom questions should be in the form of a question. (RIP Alex Trebek).

  • Avoid using misspelled words, slang (i.e. “y’all”, “howdy”, or other amazing words like that), or another texting language (i.e. “u” for “you”), even if you find them used in the IDK. These have already been built into the foundation of the AI and will be accounted for when your new question is used in a conversation. The AI is strong. Let it do the heavy lifting.

  • Ignore smalltalk IDKs (i.e. “How old are you?”, “What is your favorite movie?”, etc.). The chatbot’s smalltalk is already built-in and is usually not further customizable due to limitations with the way the AI was built to effectively understand and speak higher education language. The chatbot was not designed to answer every question under the sun. Focus on content related to the areas in your chatbot’s contract (i.e. Admissions, Financial Aid, etc.). Students and parents usually aren’t looking for a new best friend (emphasis on “usually”), rather they just need to receive answers to their higher ed questions or at least be directed to the area where they can get answers.

  • Do not include acronyms or specific location names in your questions. This is a limitation of the AI. 

  • Find additional custom question best practices in the "Customize Based on Testing" section.



3. Continue to Promote

  • Get the word out! Ensure that the 24/7 availability of the chatbot is being highlighted to students as you respond to their calls and emails so that they know they can use that resource for future questions. 

  • We want to help! Review these promotional ideas and resources.



4. Keep in Touch

  • Let us know how it's going and how we can help!

  • Keep us notified of main URL domain changes so that we can update your spidered web pages.

  • If your primary URL domain/subdomain changes (i.e. centennial.edu/admissions), we will need to refresh your website index to ensure the correct pages are being returned in the website search feature.

  • Open a ticket with your new main URL domain and we will take care of the rest.