Genie — Deakin University's AI virtual assistant for student admissions and services

Genie is a mobile chatbot and virtual-assistant app built by Deakin University's in-house IT Group, originating in 2014 as an IBM Watson-powered digital student advisor integrated into the university's DeakinSync learning platform, before evolving into a standalone app piloted in 2017 and launched university-wide in late 2018.

Students used Genie to ask about enrolment, fees, financial aid, timetables, assignment and exam deadlines, library loans and campus services. Independent Australian and international trade press (iTnews, CIO) corroborated that by September 2019 Genie had been downloaded by more than 25,000 students and was handling up to 12,000 conversations a day at peak times; Deakin's Chief Digital Officer also reported a pilot commercial spin-off, 'Claims Companion by Genie', tested with Allianz Australia in 2019. The tool won several industry recognitions, including a 2018 iTnews Benchmark Award and a Reimagine Education Gold Award.

Earlier vendor-affiliated claims of a 5-10% reduction in staff-handled inquiries and 30,000 questions answered in one trimester could not be independently corroborated beyond an IBM-affiliated case-study page, and no peer-reviewed evaluation of learning, retention or satisfaction outcomes was found. Coverage of Genie also stops after 2019: Deakin's own current pages could not be independently fetched, and no press or academic source confirms whether the service is still active in 2025-26, so its present-day status should be treated as unconfirmed.

Read the full analysis: https://www.itnews.com.au/news/deakins-genie-assistant-tackles-12000-conversations-a-day-530688