At Charles Sturt University, our work begins with a guiding principle that shapes everything we do: Yindyamarra Winhanganha — the wisdom of respectfully knowing how to live well in a world worth living in. This vision and ethos underscores not only how we teach and serve but also how we design and implement technology, including artificial intelligence (AI). 

For us, AI is not about automation for efficiency’s sake. It is about creating more equitable, supportive experiences for the students and communities who rely on us.  

This article was written by Michael Buttsworth, Associate Director, Student Experience Service Centre, Charles Sturt University, a Genesys customer.  

At Charles Sturt University, our work begins with a guiding principle that shapes everything we do: Yindyamarra Winhanganha — the wisdom of respectfully knowing how to live well in a world worth living in. This vision and ethos underscores not only how we teach and serve but also how we design and implement technology, including artificial intelligence (AI). 

For us, AI is not about automation for efficiency’s sake. It is about creating more equitable, supportive experiences for the students and communities who rely on us.  

More than half of our students are the first in their families to attend university, and more than 80% of our graduates remain in their communities. They become entrepreneurs, nurses, paramedics, social workers and teachers — the people who keep regional Australia strong.  

With 32,000 students across six campuses and a large online cohort, we do not simply serve regional Australia — we are regional Australia. Every improvement we make to student support ripples outward to families, workplaces and communities. For this reason, our approach to AI is grounded in humanity, empathy and care.

A Story That Shaped Our Vision 

Our support experience transformation began with a single story — one that reflects the lived experiences of many of our students. 

A nursing student, a single mother, ends a long day of work: childcare, dinner, homework and the chaos of bedtime. When her house finally becomes quiet, she opens her laptop and faces an assessment due the next day. She is exhausted and overwhelmed. She types into her browser: “I need help. I don’t know what to do next.” 

This scenario is not hypothetical. We have seen moments like this play out many times. What it represents is the experience we are intentionally working toward. One that is shaped by our student experience principles of being easy to do business with and acting with empathy.  

Instead of encountering the barrier of a closed office, the student is supported through a digital experience designed to listen first. Not simply to point to links or instructions, but to ask thoughtful questions, understand her situation and respond with care. 

In this envisioned experience, the virtual agent supports her to request an extension. As the conversation unfolds and financial pressure becomes part of the picture, relevant support options, such as scholarships she may be eligible for, are brought into the conversation and explained clearly. The goal is not to automate decisions, but to reduce effort, remove friction and help the student feel supported enough to continue her studies. 

This is the heart of our work. AI, when designed with care, can create moments of reassurance at the exact time a student needs them, 24/7. It is not about replacing human connection; it is about amplifying it. 

“AI, when designed with care, can create moments of reassurance at the exact time a student needs them, 24/7. It is not about replacing human connection; it is about amplifying it.”

Where We Began 

Just a few years ago, our service model was built for a campus-based world. We operated Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 — but those were the exact hours when many of our online and working students were unable to reach us. Students often waited on hold during brief breaks in their day. They repeated their story and frequently left frustrated. 

Our staff was equally constrained. Our function was treated as operational rather than strategic. We had no access to core systems and no influence over the systems that shaped the student experience. Every change required an IT ticket. Our team was capable and committed, but structurally limited. 

Everything shifted after a simple moment at an industry conference. While visiting the Genesys stand, I introduced myself as the leader of the Charles Sturt University contact center. The team knew our IT department well, but they had never met the people who interacted with students daily. I asked why. 

That question opened a door. The following Monday, Genesys reached out and a true partnership began — and with it, the start of real transformation.  

Building Insight, Capability and Confidence 

At the time, Paul Drake, then part of the university’s IT operation and now our Contact Center Systems Manager, was only able to support our team 5% of the time. Our first challenge was stabilizing a highly casualized workforce that includes students. By activating workforce engagement capabilities, we gained visibility, control, and much-needed breathing room.  

When an opportunity arose, I brought Paul onto the team full-time, and our trajectory changed again. 

We launched our first chatbot and asynchronous messaging. It wasn’t perfect — our knowledge base needed attention — but the impact was immediate. Inbound chat volume quickly dropped by 20%. That reduction created the capacity for two of our agents to become knowledge officers and for us to hire a data analyst. 

Knowledge became the foundation of everything. Our knowledge officers worked directly within the Genesys Cloud™ platform, shaping content based on real trends and real student needs. 

With insights gathered through Genesys Cloud and our CRM data, we could easily see who’s contacting us and why, when they’re contacting us and through which channels. With this insight, we could also determine which knowledge helps them and what misses the mark. 

We gained the ability to identify precise patterns, such as how many nursing students ages 35–45 contact us after hours about application progress. We also can track NPS for that journey and the performance of every knowledge article that touches it. This clarity allows us to improve quickly and continuously. 

When we added Genesys Cloud Agent Copilot, predictive routing and additional AI-driven capabilities, the transformation became not just technical, but cultural. We evolved from a 9-to-5 operational team into a 24/7, data-rich service hub shaping the university’s broader digital roadmap. 

These gains also enabled us to build a new outbound sales team — without adding resources. 

The contact center staff began shifting from repetitive transactional work to meaningful, high-value interactions, as well as refining AI flows, monitoring performance and creating knowledge content. 

Designing AI with Compassion and Precision 

AI adoption can spark fear, and not without reason. During early testing, we saw instances where the technology misunderstood context or offered inappropriate guidance. These tests, conducted safely without student exposure, highlighted a critical truth: Empathy cannot be assumed and accuracy must be engineered. 

Using Genesys Cloud AI Guides made it possible to move even more carefully and intentionally — refining one student journey at a time, validating not just accuracy but also tone, warmth, and alignment with our values. 

That disciplined approach is building trust throughout the institution, from frontline teams to executive leadership. And our AI Guides–powered agentic virtual agents can deliver truly empathetic support experiences.  

Our legacy chatbot could answer questions, but it lacked emotional intelligence. Virtual agents powered by AI Guides, by contrast, respond with genuine understanding. 

If a student says, “I’m struggling,” the system doesn’t offer generic links. It asks appropriate questions, expresses recognition and offers tailored options — whether that’s an extension, wellbeing services or financial support. 

This isn’t just faster service. It’s more human service. 

“This isn’t just faster service. It’s more human service.”

Empowering Staff Through Accessible AI 

Humanizing AI is also about humanizing work. We’ve built internal tools to bridge the gap between technical and non-technical roles. One of these tools enables our Knowledge team to create AI Guides–powered agentic virtual agents using natural language. They simply describe the scenario; for example, “Help a nursing student request an extension,” and the tool generates the underlying prompt, applies our tone and formats it for Genesys Cloud AI Studio. 

This shifts effort from technical construction to human intention. It accelerates training, supports consistency, reduces points of failure, and makes innovation scalable across the team. 

Shifting From Guidance to Action 

Today, our agentic virtual agents, powered by AI Guides, can hold meaningful conversations and connect students with the right information or pathway. The next step is enabling action. 

In the story shared earlier, the nursing student needed more than guidance; she needed processes to be fully completed. By integrating AI with core systems such as Microsoft Dynamics, our student management system, and our learning platforms, we’ll move from guidance to action. 

Self-service will shift from: “Here’s a link” to “Let’s complete this together, right now.” That’s true accessibility. 

It’s support that meets students where they are — at any hour, on any device, in any moment of need. As always, we will move forward carefully to get there, prioritizing trust, safety and integrity. 

The future of self-service is not about removing humans. It’s about amplifying their impact. It’s about using AI that can handle not only routine inquiries, but also complex interactions so our people can focus on moments that truly require human connection. 

 

Read the full story about how Charles Sturt University is delivering seamless, engaging and efficient support with Genesys Cloud.