UND Offers Better, Faster IT Service with AI Chatbot
Velentix Solutions

UND Offers Better, Faster IT Service
with AI Chatbot

University of North Dakota Conversational AI
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No-code Intent Building

Using the no-code, drag-and-drop intent builder, UND has built more than 150 intents and scenarios for the chatbot, including an integration with BeyondTrust and the automation of support ticket creation for technicians.

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Faster Resolution

UND says the chatbot, which is available 24/7, is the fastest way to get support, has improved resolution times and has reduced ticket volume. In the future, UND is looking to expand the use of the chatbot beyond IT.ย 

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Automation and Integration

If the chatbot canโ€™t resolve a request, it automatically hands the user off to a live support technician using an integration with BeyondTrust, and automatically generates a support ticket pre-populated with relevant information.

โ€œThese are all things I was able to do with no coding experience.โ€

Industry: Higher Education
Top Use Cases:

  • Password Resets
  • Connection to Wi-Fi
  • AI-enhanced Knowledge Base Search

Adding a conversational AI chatbot to your IT service catalog might seem daunting, but it doesnโ€™t have to be. Just ask Logan Tong, User Support Specialist at the University of North Dakota (UND).

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Although Tong comes from a non-developer background, he was able to integrate the Velentix conversational AI chatbot into the universityโ€™s IT service catalog without trouble.

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The conversational AI chatbot works within the ITSM/ESM platform. As a no-code solution, Velentix offers the ability to build intents and utterances using a simple, drag-and-drop interface. You can also integrate the chatbot with underlying systems for a personalized conversation and then build out custom workflows โ€“ all with a visual flow builder.

Outcomes

  • Better, faster service with chat
  • 150+ intents built with no coding experience
  • Transfer to Live Chat with integration to BeyondTrust

Embracing IT Automation with AI

Since implementing conversational AI, Tong has created several use cases for the chatbot that deflect support requests from IT staff, while providing better (and faster) service for students and employees. Those use cases include:

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  • Password resets โ€“ The chatbot can walk users through the process of resetting their password automatically, so a technician doesnโ€™t have to do this.
  • Connecting toย Wi-Fi โ€“ If a user reports trouble connecting to campus Wi-Fi, the bot checks what type of device theyโ€™re working on and shows a relevant knowledge base article for that type of device. If the user is still having problems, the bot will connect them with a live human via chat.
  • AI-enhanced knowledge base search โ€“ As a failover, the bot automatically searches the UND knowledge base and presents the most relevant articles pertaining to the userโ€™s request.ย 
  • Transfer to live chat with automatic ticket generation โ€“ UND was already using BeyondTrust (formerly Bomgar) to support live chat and remote IT support. If the chatbot canโ€™t resolve a userโ€™s issue, it hands off the user to a live support technician through an integration with BeyondTrust and also automatically generates a support ticket within Velentix, pre-populated with information the user-supplied.

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โ€œThe support technician can see what the user has already been talking to the bot about, which saves a lot of clicks and repeat questions for users,โ€ Tong said.

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Tong has built over 150 intents and scenarios into UNDโ€™s chatbot, proving that even IT employees without any special coding knowledge, but a technical mindset, can pick up this tool and run with it to add value to their organization.

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โ€œThese are all things I was able to do with no coding experience,โ€ Tong said.

We were looking to explore ways that AI could help us do our jobs better.

Better (and Faster) Service with Chat

UND was already using the Velentix platform to manage IT service for its 15,000 students and 2,700 faculty and staff. As part of their overarching tech strategy, the IT leadership team at UND is looking to leverage the power of automation and AI to reduce IT team staff constraints while driving a stellar end-user experience.

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โ€œWe were looking to explore ways that AI could help us do our jobs better,โ€ Tong says.

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Choosing Velentix for this service โ€œallowed us to tie into the work weโ€™ve already done in building a knowledge base and service catalog,โ€ Tong explained, with the full suite of products working together to synchronize the experience for both IT staff and end users.

Better, Faster Service

โ€œCurrently, the bot is the fastest way to get a support ticket to us. Itโ€™s really amazing how fast it works. And because the bot is available 24-7, weโ€™ve got assurance that users can get the help they need immediately, whenever they might have questions.โ€

Reducing Response and Resolution Time

Integrating conversational AI chat is reducing the number of requests that support staff must field for themselves, while also expediting service for end users, Tong said.

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โ€œCurrently, the bot is the fastest way to get a support ticket to us,โ€ he explained. โ€œItโ€™s really amazing how fast it works. And because the bot is available 24-7, weโ€™ve got assurance that users can get the help they need immediately, whenever they might have questions.

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User feedback has been very positive so far. โ€œWhen people click โ€˜yesโ€™ when we ask them whether the session was helpful or not, thatโ€™s a good feeling,โ€ Tong said. Still, he reads through each dayโ€™s interactions, looking for ways to improve the botโ€™s responses.

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Reading these conversations also generates ideas for additional use cases with the bot.

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For instance, the universityโ€™s High-Performance Computing Center is interested in using the AI chatbot to automate the fulfillment of certain user requests, such as allocating supercomputing resources, increasing storage capacity or scheduling access to research clusters.

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โ€œOur hope is to find a bot capable of addressing not only tech support inquiries but also a wide range of questions related to our community needs during their time at UND. โ€ Tong said. Students could use the bot to ask what their current grades are, for example, or how much they owe for the semester.

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โ€œItโ€™s a fun tool to use,โ€ Tong said of the Velentix chatbot. โ€œOnce you realize how much potential it has, your brain starts sparking with ideas.โ€

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