Why Student Enquiries Are Swamping Your Teams (And How to Fix It with AI)

Ask any university support team what their inbox looks like in September, and you’ll get the same answer: chaos. A flood of emails pours in, students needing council tax letters, clarification on timetables, confirmation of study, and everything in between.

Each request might only take a few minutes to answer, but the sheer volume creates a wave of admin that buries even the most efficient teams. And the problem is not going away. With rising student numbers, growing expectations for instant service, and ongoing pressure to do more with less, institutions are being forced to rethink how they manage enquiries.

So, why are most universities still relying on traditional emails or outdated chatbots to handle this critical function? And what’s the smarter alternative?

The Problem: Student Enquiries Are Eating Your Resources

On paper, many of the enquiries students send through each day seem straightforward. “Can I get a letter for my local council?” “Where can I find my timetable?” “I need to confirm my attendance.” Each one is easy to respond to, but when hundreds or even thousands come in every week, the cracks begin to show.

What makes this a bigger issue is the repetition. Staff often find themselves writing the same replies over and over again, copying and pasting from templates, chasing down missing information, and manually logging activity across various systems. This creates multiple points of friction, increasing the risk of delays, mistakes, and unhappy students.

It’s also worth noting the seasonal nature of these peaks. At the start of term, during exams, or ahead of graduation, demand skyrockets. This leads to long queues, late replies, and significant stress on staff who are often already stretched thin.

Why Traditional Tools Are Not Enough

You might already be using a chatbot on your website or some kind of automated email filter. But the truth is, these tools were never designed to handle the real-world complexity of university workflows or the way students actually communicate.

Let’s look at email first. It is familiar, but it is inefficient. Every message requires someone to read, assess, respond, and sometimes redirect. There is no visibility across teams, and it is all too easy for things to fall through the cracks. A simple request can result in five or six emails before anything is resolved.

Basic chatbots, meanwhile, often leave students frustrated. They rely on keyword matching or rigid flows, so if a student phrases their question slightly differently than expected, the bot fails to help. It is a poor experience for students and no help at all for staff, who then have to step in manually anyway.

In both cases, staff spend far too much time dealing with repeat queries, while students are left waiting for the support they need. It is an experience that benefits no one.

Meet KIRA: A Smarter Way to Handle Student Requests

This is where Niico’s conversational AI assistant, KIRA, changes the game. Rather than relying on rigid scripts or inbox rules, KIRA uses intelligent, contextual understanding to engage with students naturally and resolve their requests immediately.

KIRA is more than just a digital assistant, it is a virtual team member that can complete tasks from start to finish. For example, if a student asks for a confirmation of study letter, KIRA understands the intent, verifies the necessary data from your student records system, generates the document, and sends it to the student. No need for human intervention.

Unlike traditional bots, KIRA understands how students actually speak. It recognises different phrasings, clarifies missing details, and can even detect urgency or distress, escalating issues when needed.

The real power comes from its integration. KIRA connects seamlessly with your existing systems, including CRMs, student information platforms, and workflow tools. This means it can update records, trigger workflows, and ensure accurate data capture across departments, all in real time.

What Else Can Niico Do?

KIRA is just one part of Niico’s broader platform, which was built specifically for higher education institutions. Beyond handling enquiries, Niico helps universities automate other high-volume, admin-heavy workflows.

Here are just a few examples:

• Admissions automation: From ID verification and document checks to interview scheduling and reference requests, Niico reduces admissions admin dramatically.
• Exceptional circumstances processing: Automatically validates student requests for extensions or accommodations, streamlining a typically slow and manual process.
• eVisa Share Code management: Collects and verifies immigration status codes, ensuring compliance while saving time across admissions and HR teams.
• Document generation: Issues council tax letters, confirmation of study, and other official communications on demand, without staff involvement.
• Sentiment-based escalation: Understands urgency and tone to route complex or sensitive cases to a human advisor quickly and appropriately.
• Scalable action automation: Executes repeatable admin tasks across departments, such as updating attendance records, resending login credentials, or assigning student services cases.

What makes Niico truly unique is its ability to plug into existing infrastructure without disrupting workflows. You do not need to retrain your teams or overhaul your systems—Niico is designed to enhance what you already use, not replace it.

Real Results for Real Teams

Universities using Niico have reported dramatic reductions in email volume, faster turnaround on student requests, and significant time savings for staff. In many cases, institutions are freeing up hundreds of hours per term that can be redirected toward more meaningful, student-focused work.

Students, too, benefit from faster responses and a more consistent experience. Whether they are looking for a form, trying to confirm a deadline, or asking for support late at night, they get clear, accurate, and personalised answers in seconds – not days.

The result is a win-win: less admin stress for staff, and a better support experience for students.

Time to Rethink the Way You Handle Enquiries

Student support should be about helping people, not chasing paper trails or replying to the same email for the hundredth time. With Niico, you can put enquiry management on autopilot and unlock the true value of your student services and administrative teams.

If your university is feeling overwhelmed by enquiry volumes or frustrated by the limitations of email and traditional bots, it is time to explore a better way.

Download our free step by step guide on automating student enquiries with AI and see how conversational AI can transform your operations, reclaim your time, and raise the bar for student experience.