Hi All,

As you may know, Bates, led by ILS, has partnered with Goodkind, an AI chatbot, to improve the user experience across our website. This new tool uses our site’s content to provide quick answers and assistance to users — all in the chat format they’re increasingly looking for.

Early Access for You
Before the full launch, you can try out the chatbot now at bates.edu/wordpress. 

Launch Plans
Our goal is to roll out the chatbot on The Quad next week, followed by a more extensive public launch across bates.edu and gobatesbobcats.com in the weeks to come.

Keep Your Content Current
Because the chatbot relies on website content, it’s essential to continue your work in keeping pages and uploads accurate and up-to-date. Here are two tips to help with that work:

1. Use the Content Age Report to identify pages that haven’t been edited in years. To find the report, visit your site’s dashboard and scroll halfway down the page.
2. Check the Media Library (sort by upload date) to identify out of date PDFs.

This chatbot isn’t perfect, but it’s improving all the time. The more accurate and up-to-date our site content, the better it will perform, creating an improved user experience for everyone.

If you have any questions about using the chatbot, updating content, or the rollout timeline, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Thank you for your contributions to bates.edu — your work plays a vital role in making this new tool a success.

Best,
Nick
Senior Director of Digital Marketing
Bates Communications and Marketing