ApplyBoard Launches Abbie, an AI Advisor for Studying Abroad

Using the capabilities of Microsoft Azure AI, including Azure OpenAI Service, Abbie provides tailored expert advice to assist students, simplifying their educational experience and facilitating a smoother academic path

ApplyBoard, one of the leading international student mobility platforms, has introduced Abbie, an AI advisor designed to revolutionize the study abroad experience. Developed in collaboration with Microsoft AI Co-Innovation Labs and using Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, this patent-pending product is powered by the latest GPT models to provide personalized, high-quality support to students, recruitment agents, and other stakeholders at every stage of the international education journey.

As an all-in-one advisor, Abbie offers a wealth of knowledge and resources, including comprehensive information on global institutions, programs, and application processes. With its advanced natural language processing capabilities, Abbie can provide customized guidance based on each student’s unique profile, ensuring they receive the most relevant and accurate advice for their specific educational needs and aspirations. Abbie can answer a student’s question in seconds, a process that previously took hours or days, making the program matching and application process faster and easier than ever.

“This launch represents a major milestone in ApplyBoard’s mission to make education accessible to students worldwide,” said Meti Basiri, Co-Founder and CEO, ApplyBoard. “By harnessing the power of AI, we are revolutionizing the way students navigate the complex and cumbersome study abroad landscape. Abbie is more than just a tool; it’s a manifestation of our commitment to student success and our vision for the future of international education.”

Abbie draws upon ApplyBoard’s extensive knowledge base, including institution and program information, anonymized student search and application data, and insights from ApplyBoard’s knowledge base Assist, ApplyInsights, and other proprietary resources. This comprehensive dataset also enables Abbie to provide unparalleled support and strategic guidance to recruitment agents, helping them better serve their students.

“The development of Abbie is a testament to the incredible role AI will have in transforming the education sector,” said Dr. Haitham Amar, Head of AI Strategy, ApplyBoard. “By combining cutting-edge technology with ApplyBoard’s deep expertise in international student mobility, we have created a tool that not only simplifies the international education process but also empowers students and recruitment agents with the insights they need to succeed, in a fraction of the time it used to take.”

ApplyBoard collaborated with Microsoft’s AI Co-Innovation Lab to accelerate Abbie’s development and used Azure Open AI Service to enhance Abbie’s natural language processing and personalized response capabilities. The collaboration propelled Abbie from concept to a cutting-edge AI solution, poised to enhance international student guidance.

“ApplyBoard’s innovative use of Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to build Abbie demonstrates the transformative potential of AI in the education sector,” said Sylvia MacPherson, National Unicorn Leader, Microsoft Canada. “By using advanced language models, ApplyBoard has developed a solution that empowers students in their international education process, making it more accessible and efficient for students worldwide. This demonstrates how Azure OpenAI Service can empower organizations to build AI-driven tools that address specific industry challenges and create a meaningful impact.”

Key features include:

• Personalized expertise: Tailored guidance based on each student’s unique profile and needs
• All-in-one advisor: Comprehensive support across the entire study abroad journey, from program discovery to application assistance and beyond
• Instant support: 24/7 availability directly within the ApplyBoard platform
• Multilingual capabilities: Support for multiple languages to serve a global audience 

Abbie is currently available to select recruitment agents in ApplyBoard’s network, with wider rollout and additional features to come in the coming months. Learn more at applyboard.com/services/abbie.

About ApplyBoard

ApplyBoard empowers students around the world to access the best education by simplifying the study abroad search, application, and acceptance process to more than 1,500 institutions across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland. Headquartered in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, ApplyBoard has helped over 1 million students from more than 150 countries along their educational journeys since 2015. To learn more, visit www.applyboard.com. 

For more information, contact:

Brooke Kelly
ApplyBoard
brooke.kelly@applyboard.com