By Paul Dorney, Chief Technology Officer at Gravyt

Higher education is at a crossroads. Budgets are tightening. Student needs are growing more complex. And the pressure to demonstrate measurable outcomes—graduation rates, job placement, lifelong value—has never been higher.

As institutions grapple with these demands, artificial intelligence isn’t some futuristic buzzword anymore—it’s a practical, proven tool that’s helping colleges and universities rise to the challenge. It’s doing the real work: powering personalized support, enabling timely intervention, and helping leaders make better decisions faster.

This shift reflects a broader evolution in how we think about higher education. Students today expect their college experience to be as responsive and seamless as every other part of their lives. If a streaming service can recommend the right show, or a bank can alert you before you overdraft, why shouldn’t your university know when you might be struggling—and help before it’s too late?

Institutions that embrace AI aren’t chasing hype—they’re stepping up to meet a new standard. And if higher education is serious about delivering on its promise to help students succeed, then AI can’t just be an afterthought. It has to be core to the strategy.

One of the biggest challenges on campuses today is capacity. Student services teams are being asked to do more with fewer resources. Advisors, financial aid officers, and support staff want to offer high-quality, human-centered help, but they’re underwater. At the same time, students expect (and deserve) immediate, personalized guidance. They don’t want to wait days for a reply to a simple question. They need answers in real time, and they want to feel like someone is paying attention. That’s where AI can make an immediate impact.

With tools like intelligent chatbots and workflow automation, institutions can free up staff from repetitive, low-impact tasks. AI can triage student questions—whether it’s about FAFSA deadlines, transfer credits, or how to drop a class—24/7. It can route more complex issues to the right person or flag high-priority cases for intervention. This doesn’t replace human connection—it makes it more possible. Staff gain back time to focus on what matters most: nuanced, high-touch conversations that build trust and drive outcomes.

AI also increases the consistency of support. When responses are automated, they don’t vary based on who’s working that day or what time the question comes in. And for students who are first-generation, working full-time, or balancing caregiving responsibilities, that kind of accessibility can be the difference between persistence and giving up.

It’s not just about convenience—it’s about equity. AI helps ensure that every student, regardless of their schedule or background, has access to the timely help they need to succeed.

Most institutions know that improving retention is both a financial imperative and a moral one. But in practice, schools still rely on reactive approaches: midterm grade checks, end-of-semester surveys, or waiting for students to raise their hands. AI enables something better: early, proactive support driven by data.

By analyzing behaviors like LMS logins, assignment submissions, attendance, and GPA fluctuations, AI can help surface subtle signals that a student might be struggling, before they’re at risk of dropping out. These models aren’t about replacing advisors with dashboards. They’re about giving staff more insight and more time to act. Even simple nudges—a reminder to complete a form, encouragement to meet with a tutor, a check-in from an advisor—can have a big impact. When timed well, these messages show students that someone is paying attention. That sense of being seen and supported helps students stay engaged and on track.

And these moments matter. In an era where more students are questioning the value of higher education, institutions have to earn student trust and demonstrate tangible value at every turn. AI helps colleges shift from triaging problems to anticipating and solving them—one student, one moment at a time.

Perhaps the most exciting promise of AI is that it enables colleges to support students not just during enrollment or in the classroom, but throughout their entire journey. With AI, we can become proactive instead of reactive. The tools coming to market today will transform the student lifecycle experience—from the first moment a prospect starts researching schools, to the day they graduate, and well beyond. This is about more than retention. It’s about long-term engagement, continuous improvement, and mission alignment.

Imagine being able to understand how your alumni are doing years after graduation—not just through an annual survey, but through real-time feedback loops. Or being able to track which outreach messages drove the most enrollment conversions and act in real time. These aren’t one-time wins. They’re ongoing feedback mechanisms that help institutions deliver more value and stay aligned with student needs.

These tools don’t just benefit institutions—they benefit students. When things work more smoothly, when support is easier to access, when guidance feels personal and relevant, students are more likely to succeed. They’re more likely to feel like they belong.

Too often, AI is still treated as an add-on—a flashy tool reserved for innovation teams or short-term pilots. But to unlock real value, institutions need to treat AI the way they treat their learning management system or financial aid platform: as foundational infrastructure.

AI isn’t just a tool for chatbots or analytics. It’s a layer that can enhance nearly every touchpoint in the student lifecycle, from marketing and enrollment to advising and alumni engagement. Think about the full journey: A prospective student lands on a university website and gets dynamic, personalized content based on their interests. They’re guided through the application process with tailored messages. Once enrolled, they get just-in-time nudges to register for classes or apply for internships. Years later, they’re prompted to complete a graduate survey or participate in alumni mentoring.

That’s not a future scenario—it’s what’s possible today, when institutions treat AI as a strategic enabler rather than a side project. Of course, with that power comes responsibility. Institutions must be clear with students about how AI is used, where automation begins and ends, and how data is collected and safeguarded. AI systems should be trained on diverse data to avoid reinforcing existing biases. And students should always have a way to escalate to a human when they need one. Equity, transparency, and human oversight aren’t nice-to-haves—they’re non-negotiables. These principles must be embedded from the start, not bolted on later.

At its core, higher education is about helping people reach their potential. It’s about creating opportunity, fostering growth, and unlocking talent. Those goals haven’t changed—but the tools to achieve them have. AI, done right, doesn’t replace the human experience of learning. It enhances it. It removes barriers, extends capacity, and gives every student a better shot at success. The most meaningful impact of AI won’t come from major product launches or shiny demos. It will come from the small ways it makes life better—for staff, for faculty, and most of all, for students.

For institutions navigating change, facing pressure, and looking to do more with less, AI offers a way forward. A way to stay true to their mission while building for the future. Now is the time to stop asking whether AI belongs in higher ed—and start asking how we can use it to serve students better at every step of the journey.