Overview

Benilde partnered with iCXeed to deploy an AI-powered admissions concierge on its website, built on AWS Bedrock with Claude Sonnet, to engage prospective students across two campuses and seven academic programs in over 30 languages. The solution delivers 24/7, context-aware guidance on programs, admissions, and enrolment, reduces repetitive workload for admissions staff, and establishes a scalable AI foundation for the entire student lifecycle.

The Challenge

Benilde, a leading higher education institution in the Philippines, faced the challenge of enhancing prospective student engagement during critical admissions and enrolment periods. The institution sought to adopt enterprise-grade generative AI, signalling to students, parents, and industry partners that it is a frontrunner in adopting cutting-edge technology for real world application. Specifically, Benilde needed to:

Modernize student interactions - Previous attempts at implementing AI technology had not achieved desired outcomes due to immature technology capabilities. The institution recognized the need to upgrade to cutting-edge generative AI solutions to deliver a modern, engaging experience.

Complex inquiry handling - With two separate campuses and seven distinct academic programs (Senior High School, Undergraduate, Graduate, ETEEAP, Benilde Deaf School, and Continuing Education), the college required a solution capable of handling complex, context-aware inquiries across diverse student populations.

Provide personalized guidance - Prospective students and parents needed 24/7 access to accurate information about available programs, admissions processes, enrolment requirements, campus life.

Better analytics - Enables insights for Benilde to be able to better cater to its prospective students. These analytics will lead to streamlined processes and increased student engagement in the early stages in their life at Benilde.

The Solution

To address these challenges, iCXeed deployed an AI-powered concierge service integrated directly into the Benilde website, leveraging AWS cloud infrastructure and advanced generative AI capabilities.

Core Solution Architecture

Intelligent Knowledge Base Management

• Comprehensive organization, creation, and curation of Benilde's institutional knowledge base
• Structured information covering admissions criteria, program details, campus facilities, student services, and enrolment processes
• Multi-campus support enabling differentiated responses based on student campus selection

Multilingual Capability

• Support for over 30 languages to serve Benilde's diverse, international prospective student base
• Native proficiency in Tagalog. This multilingual capability allows the concierge to respond naturally to queries like "Magkano po ang tuition?" or "Pwede ba ako mag-shift if hindi match ang course?" in a mix of English and Tagalog, lowering barriers and making the experience feel authentically Benildean.
• Context-aware language selection based on user preference

Contextual Understanding

• Advanced reasoning capabilities to understand complex, multi-part inquiries from prospective students and parents
• Ability to maintain context throughout conversations, personalising responses based on student profile (e.g., program of interest, campus location)
• Sophisticated handling of nuanced questions about admissions timelines, program requirements, and enrolment procedures

Seamless Escalation

• Integration with Benilde's existing ticketing system for inquiries beyond the AI concierge resolution capability
• Automated ticket creation preserving conversation context for Benilde's admissions team
• Handoff mechanism ensuring no inquiry goes unanswered while optimizing first-contact resolution

Outcomes of Project & Success Metrics