What's a custom chatbot?
A custom chatbot is an AI-powered tool designed to interact with users based on specific needs and contexts. In higher education, custom chatbots can be programmed to assist with tasks such as answering student FAQs, guiding research inquiries, providing writing feedback, or supporting administrative workflows. They can be tailored to departmental needs, integrating institutional knowledge, course materials, or library resources to enhance engagement and efficiency.
Resources for creating your own chatbot:
“Don’t Think You Can Create Your Own Chatbot? You Can!” - Created by instructional designer Laura Yost, this document contains a list of chatbot generator tools and step-by-step guidance on how to use them.
Educational Bots Starter Kit - An open educational resource (OER) created by Cassandra Silva Sibilin that walks you through the steps of designing your own chatbot.