From AI in Admissions to Continuous Student Support: Designing a Smarter Applicant and Student Journey

At Annie, we spend a lot of time thinking about where students experience friction — and how institutions can reduce it without losing the human element that makes experience meaningful. One area where this tension is especially visible is student admissions. As application volumes grow and processes become more complex, admissions teams are expected to be fast, clear, and responsive, often with limited resources.

Artificial intelligence has become an increasingly practical tool to support this work. Across Europe, institutions are using AI to help manage enquiries, improve communication, and guide applicants through digital admissions processes. These developments mark an important step forward, but admissions is only one moment in a much longer journey.

What institutions are increasingly recognising is that the way applicants are supported before enrolment has a direct impact on how well they integrate, engage, and succeed once their studies begin.

A growing number of universities in Finland and in Estonia have begun experimenting with AI-enabled applicant engagement to address this challenge. In these contexts, Annie has been used to proactively guide applicants throughout the admissions process using conversational channels such as SMS and instant messaging via WhatsApp and Signal, making support more accessible and immediate than traditional email-based communication alone.

Rather than waiting for applicants to search for information or contact admissions offices, AI-based assistants can engage applicants at relevant moments in the application journey. Interactions can be aligned with the applicant’s current phase, such as starting an application, preparing documentation, or awaiting a decision, or initiated directly when the applicant reaches out with a question. This creates an ongoing dialogue that reduces uncertainty and lowers the threshold for asking for help.

A key principle in these implementations is that Annie responds using the institution’s own admissions materials, instructions, and policies. This ensures that applicants receive accurate and consistent information, while also allowing them to access guidance at any time of day. For international applicants in particular, around-the-clock availability can make a significant difference in navigating unfamiliar systems and timelines.

Beyond immediate applicant support, this approach also provides admissions teams with valuable insight. By analysing conversations, institutions can better understand what applicants are asking, where confusion arises, and which stages of the process create the most friction. Over time, this insight can inform improvements not only to the bot itself, but also to admissions processes and communication practices more broadly.

In universities in Finland and in Estonia, pilot projects using AI-assisted applicant engagement have been structured with clear evaluation criteria. These have included comparisons of application volumes with previous years, estimates of time saved by admissions staff, and qualitative feedback from the teams involved. Importantly, these pilots have relied on close collaboration between institutional staff and the Annie team, with co-design workshops, testing phases, and iterative refinement of how the bot supports applicants.

This model reflects a broader shift in how AI is being applied in higher education. Rather than replacing human expertise, AI acts as a first line of support, handling routine enquiries and guidance so that admissions professionals can focus on complex cases, decision-making, and personal interaction where it adds the most value.

The benefits of this approach do not end at enrolment. The same logic can be extended into the early stages of study, when students often face new administrative, academic, and social challenges. Annie can continue to support students after enrolment by helping them navigate institutional services, providing timely guidance based on their study phase, and directing them to human support when escalation is needed.

From an institutional perspective, this creates continuity across recruitment, admissions, and student support. Investments made in attracting students are better protected when those students receive consistent, proactive support from their first interaction through to their studies and beyond.

At Annie, we see AI-enabled applicant and student support as a way to strengthen continuity across the entire student journey. When designed responsibly, with clear governance and human oversight, AI can help institutions remain accessible, responsive, and supportive at scale. The real value of solutions like Annie lies not in isolated automation, but in their ability to complement human work, reduce friction for applicants and students, and ensure that support is available precisely when it is needed — from the first interaction to well beyond enrolment.