Improving the prospective student experience with Drupal AI

Prospective students often have to piece together answers across complex websites, while admissions teams spend significant time responding to many of the same questions. Could AI make that journey easier without sacrificing accuracy, trust, or institutional control? 

Join John Tran of ImageX and Joe Kwan of the University of Waterloo for a behind-the-scenes look at the development of an AI-powered admissions advisor proof of concept. Register for the webinar here.

Mapping the Student Journey to Build Better Guidance

The project began with discovery across Waterloo’s graduate and undergraduate admissions teams to understand where students experience friction, which questions come up repeatedly, where search and navigation fall short, and where human guidance remains essential. Those insights shaped a conversational prototype designed to help students find trusted information, compare programs, understand requirements, and navigate next steps.

Testing with Prospective Students

The team then tested the experience directly with prospective students. Research showed strong interest in a more conversational way to explore university information, while also surfacing important considerations around privacy, tone, usability, content quality, transparency, and trust.

John and Joe will share what the team learned through discovery, prototyping, and student testing, as well as the role Drupal can play as the governed content foundation behind AI-assisted experiences.

What you will learn from the webinar

Attendees will leave with practical insight into how to identify worthwhile AI use cases, validate them with real users, and determine where AI can meaningfully improve an existing digital experience before moving toward production.