No abstract

Today, customer service automation is one of the main business trends. The use of chatbots and other artificial intelligence tools replaces classic IVR (Interactive Voice Response) systems. Chatbot is a program that automatically answers customer requests by text or voice and, if necessary, routes it to an agent. Such solutions are actively used in contact centers of large companies (state institutions, banks, airlines, etc.). However, customers are not always satisfied with the service they receive. This can happen for various reasons, such as a limited number of communication scenarios, problems with recognizing customer questions, etc. In this article the development of a chatbot for university admission is considered. The goal is to improve customer experience and to increase the number of potential applicants through the use of modern customer service tools. The current state of affairs in the field of information support for applicants is analyzed. The main platforms of chatbots used in universities are considered, a comparison of their basic functions is given. The results of a sociological study to determine the questions most frequently asked by applicants are presented. Based on the collected data, the requirements for the functionality of the chatbot planned for development were determined. Plans for future work are given.