Savannah-Chatham County Public School System parents, students, staff and community members can get answers to frequently asked questions, request information, and share feedback in 13 languages through a new 24/7 AI chatbot.
Let’s Talk, from K12 Insight, calls itself “the only AI-powered, all-in-one, district-wide customer service platform built for education.” The school board approved the $452,100 three-year subscription for Let’s Talk within its May 7 Regular Meeting consent agenda.
The new program appeared on the school district’s homepage (sccpss.com) this past week. Customers, its term for users of the software, can access it through the Let’s Talk tab on the right hand side of the screen at the district’s website.
People in need of answers that they might not be able to easily find or those who are not sure where to start with asking questions can engage with Let’s Talk. As can others who want to share real-time feedback about a situation or concern.
The district’s press release on the launch of the program this past week noted that Let’s Talk helps “gather and respond to community feedback, decrease response time, and identify problems before they become crises.”
What it offers?
The school district’s Executive Director of Communications Stacy Jennings called the tool “a major step forward for the district in our efforts to cultivate a thriving school culture and climate.” She said that Let’s Talk helps create a welcoming space for dialogue that ensures every voice can be heard.
The 13 languages, beyond English, that Let’s Talk supports translate include Spanish, French, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Vietnamese, Korean, Arabic, Russian, Portuguese, Tagalog, Japanese, Hindi and German.
Superintendent Denise Watts expressed that Let’s Talk “provides the district with data needed to make informed decisions.” The data comes in the form of questions, concerns, or suggestions from the customers. Jennings said that through the data, the district plans to “identify trends, uncover challenges and celebrate what’s working.”
She shared that the program has a built-in workflow automation, which allows the district to escalate “unresolved or overdue inquiries directly to designated team members.” She gave the example, of a dialogue remaining unanswered for more than 2 days, or if it had been marked “high priority,” then the system would automatically assign it to a supervisor. Through the chatbot, customres who have their question or concern addressed satisfactorily then they can share a ” thumbs up,” which closes out the dialogue. A “thumbs down” customer response triggers the offer of an opportunity for a follow up question or to submit an email inquiry.
Jennings noted that emails will be sent to a live person, “though it might not be a 24/7 person!” She said that if anyone feels a question was not answered after it goes to email, the next step would be to “reopen the dialogue within Let’s Talk or submit a new inquiry with additional context.” She said the system tracks interactions and is designed to effecitvely route them to the right team members, whether a school leader, department head, or member of the communications team.
Jennings encouraged people across the community to use Let’s Talk so the district can “deliver high quality customer experiences and make SCCPSS an even better place for our students and families.”
Joseph Schwartzburt is the education and workforce development reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at JSchwartzburt@gannett.com and JoeInTheKnow_SMN on Instagram.