The chatbot was developed by the Tech Fellows, a group of tech-savvy law students helping the Faculty to digitize operations, in partnership with Common Law admissions team.
For project lead Eryn Heidel, a third-year JD student, “The (old) process of finding answers involved either navigating the site to the appropriate section or sending the admissions team an email. It could take time to find the answer.”
Carrie Herman, senior officer, admissions and recruitment, agrees. “We would receive hundreds, if not thousands, of inquiries from applicants and prospective students.” The bilingual chatbot lets applicants find information without waiting for a reply from a staff member. “We imagine this will be especially helpful during peak times of the year,” Herman says.
The chatbot also provides the admission team with analytics data. For Herman, it “can help us to determine, with anonymized data, which topics might need further clarification. We can then draft an FAQ based on genuine need rather than assumptions.”
Heidel feels that we’re just scratching the surface with this technology. “Chatbots are being used in all aspects of our life. Many platforms allow anyone to create interactive chatbots without the need to know complex coding languages.”
Heidel believes that chatbots will promote accessibility. They can remove barriers to justice and information, answering basic legal questions ranging from how to obtain a fee waiver to finding legal services in the community. “These chatbots can easily detect the language the individual is asking or typing the question in and respond in their preferred language,” she says. “The options are endless.”
Since the launch of the chatbot, many professors and others in the Faculty are exploring new ways to enrich the user experience.
“These types of innovation make our faculty truly unique. Here is a prime example of how students can leverage technology to help enhance our current operations,” says Interim Dean Alain Roussy. “The chatbot frees up our staff to address the more complex questions while instantly answering student inquiries. I definitely see how this is just the beginning.”
The chatbot will continually be improved, with new features added. As the technology develops, it will become more interactive and accurate. The future is full of possibilities.