Practical guide for a short pilot
How Iraqi colleges can run a 2–4 week WhatsApp AI pilot
The idea is simple: you don’t have to change everything on day one. Test the AI assistant with one department, for a limited period, and a limited number of messages — then decide whether to expand.
1. Choose one department and one clear goal
For example: “Answer admission questions for first-year applicants in the Computer Science department.”
Avoid trying to cover all departments on day one. One focused area will give you clean feedback and clear numbers.
2. Prepare 3–5 official documents
Start with PDFs or Word files you already use: admission guide, tuition fees table, important dates, required documents, and common rules.
The assistant will rely on these documents, so they should be up-to-date and clearly written.
3. Limit the pilot to 2–4 weeks and a small message quota
Tell your team: “This is a pilot for 2–4 weeks, with a limited number of messages in the wallet.”
This helps everyone feel safe to try it, knowing there is a clear start and end.
4. Inform students in 2–3 simple lines
Use a simple message on your social channels or website: “You can now ask your admission questions via WhatsApp. This is an AI assistant based on our official documents. For special cases, please visit the college.”
Make it clear that this tool helps with common questions, not with every rare case.
5. Measure success with 3 simple numbers
Total number of questions handled by the assistant.
Estimated phone calls reduced (ask your staff: “Did phone pressure drop?”).
Student satisfaction: ask a few students informally if the answers were helpful.
If the pilot works, expansion is easy
Once one department is stable, you can add more departments, more documents, and more phone numbers step by step.
The goal of the pilot is not perfection; it’s to prove that many questions can be answered automatically without losing control.
Make it easier for your team to see this later.