Cara — University of Galway's 24/7 AI Student-Services Chatbot Reaches 98% Query Resolution

University of Galway, Ireland, deployed Cara, an AI chatbot built by Irish startup Galvia (formerly Chatspace), in November 2021 as a 'virtual extension' of its Student Enquiry Centre, answering questions ranging from bike parking and classroom locations to wellbeing and mental-health signposting.
By October 2023, Cara had answered over 30,000 queries with a 91% self-resolution rate. Over a later 12-month period, the vendor reports 50,000+ queries with a 98.75% successful resolution rate and 4,167 staff hours saved, alongside a claimed 40% reduction in repetitive manual tasks.
University of Galway was the only Irish higher-education institution shortlisted for a Times Higher Education award for the innovation.
The most recent resolution-rate and hours-saved figures originate from Galvia's own vendor case study rather than an independently audited source, so should be read with that caveat. Cara is a general student-services and engagement tool, not a dedicated dropout-prediction or admissions algorithm.

Read the full analysis: https://www.siliconrepublic.com/machines/cara-ai-chatbot-university-of-galway-student-support-services