AI Agents for Education: 8 Use Cases for More Meaningful Student Outcomes

It might sound ironic, but AI Agents are actually making student support more human.

You know it best—students thrive when they feel supported. When they feel seen. Understood. They’re delicate. They’re intelligent. They’re just trying to do well. 

And sometimes they need your help.

There’s a good chance they don’t always know what to ask for, or how to ask for it. Human reconnaissance is often necessary to read between the lines and offer true support when it matters most.

And that is the beauty of incorporating AI agents for education. They handle the logistical grind. They handle routine tasks self-sufficiently. They help you open up the bandwidth to always have a real human available for every student when it matters most.

There’s a reason why universities using AI for student support see 20-30% higher enrollment rates. The question here is, how are they actually using AI agents to get those results? We’ll show you.

This article breaks down eight powerful ways that Education programs are currently using Regal’s AI agents for education, across everything from enrollment to graduation. Let’s jump into it.

8 Use Cases for More Meaningful Student Outcomes

Use Case #1: Inquiry Qualification

If you’ve ever found yourself asking:

How can we respond to student inquiries faster?

How can we automate the qualification process without worrying about wrong-fit applications?

Let’s say a student has filled out an inquiry form, started an application, or sent your team a message asking for details on courses or financial aid (or some combination of all of these).

AI agents for education ensure that no student inquiry goes cold or gets mishandled, and that you’re always getting the right people into and through the application process.

How AI agents handle student qualification

1. Real-time follow-up: When a student expresses interest, they get a personalized response from an AI agent immediately, on the channel(s) you prefer. You can have multiple follow-up messages in case they don’t answer.

2. Accurately assessing fit: AI agents can truly converse with students and learn about them. 

When they reach out, it’s not just a generic SMS blast that says “hello,” and gives the student a generic email to contact if they need further assistance. 

In your preferred channel, voice included, you can have an AI agent reach out to say, “Hey Taylor, how are you today?” And from there, ask Taylor questions to understand her intended field of study, financial situation, extracurriculars, desired class size, career goals, and so on.

How you set your AI guardrails will determine how your agents respond to each of these pieces of information.

3. Seamless handoff: You control the triggers of how your agents act. If Taylor is ready to complete an application, your AI agent can guide her to the application portal. If she needs more info, it’ll transfer her to a human advisor. Your humans are only involved when they truly need to be.

Maybe you want to build up your program, and handle growing volumes of inquiries without burdening your team. 

Or maybe you just want to take the burden of routine qualification calls off of your team, while maintaining the same quality of experience for students.

AI agents can take on much of the burden in either of these cases.

Use Case #2: Application Completion

If you’ve ever found yourself asking:

How can we reduce abandoned student applications and automate a more seamless process for students?

Every admissions team knows the struggle. Students start applications, but they don’t finish them. Maybe they’re stuck on a question, missing a document, or just got distracted.

AI agents for education help avoid abandoned applications by proactively reaching out the moment a student stalls.

How AI agents for education drive student application completion

• Real-time intervention: If a student, Mia, starts an application but doesn’t submit it within a few days, the AI Agent sends a message: "Hey Mia, you’re almost there! Need help finishing your application?"
• Step-by-step guidance: If she’s missing transcripts, the AI Agent walks her through how to request them. If she’s unsure about deadlines, it provides instant clarity.
• Personalized reminders: The AI Agent can even schedule a call with an admissions counselor or send reminders at the optimal time, ensuring Mia gets across the finish line.

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For you, this means less manual follow-up, and more application completions. Advisors only get involved when an applicant needs specific guidance.

Use Case #3: Student Onboarding

If you’ve ever found yourself asking:

How can we further automate the onboarding process?

How can AI keep students engaged in onboarding without advisor involvement?

What are proactive ways that we can keep students inspired about new courses?

If your students feel overwhelmed early on, you’re pushing them to disengage.

Take Jordan, for example, a first-year student at an online university. They’ve been accepted, and now they’re staring at a long checklist of to-do’s—portal setup, course registration, financial aid forms. They’re inevitably going to have questions (and might need a little boost to act quickly).

Instead of putting all of the burden on Jordan to reach out to you, or having them wait days for an advisor to respond (when they do reach out), you can have an AI Agent step in immediately:

• Proactive welcome messages: "Hey Jordan! Welcome to [University Name]! Let’s get you set up. First up: setting up your student portal. Click here to log in. Below is a step-by-step guide to getting started…"
• Guided next steps: As Jordan completes each step, your AI Agent guides them to the next—registering for classes, finding their academic advisor, or accessing orientation materials.
• Personalized reminders: If Jordan forgets to complete a critical task, your Agent follows up: "Still need to register for classes? The deadline is coming up—let’s take care of it now!"
• Instant answers to common questions: Instead of waiting on hold with student services, Jordan can ask the AI Agent: “How do I get my student ID?” or “Where do I find my class schedule?” and get an instant response.

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AI agents can walk students through the full application process, without any human assistance. They can make the application process feel less burdensome for students, while making the workload less burdensome for your admissions team.

Use Case #4: Tutoring Enrollment

If you’ve ever found yourself asking:

How can we use AI to connect more students to tutoring services?

How do we automate tutoring service reminders without making students feel alienated or embarrassed?

Struggling students don’t always ask for help. They may not know tutoring services exist. They might feel embarrassed to seek support. Maybe they don’t have time to figure out how to book a session.

AI agents for education eliminate these barriers by proactively guiding students to tutoring resources. Agents can react to triggers based on student performance. And, you can customize your agents to interact in a friendly, delicate manner.

Consider Maya, a first-year college student struggling with calculus. Instead of waiting for her to reach out, an AI agent sees her declining grades (based on a trigger you’ve set up) and springs to action:

• Proactive outreach: "Hey Maya, a lot of students find calculus challenging. Did you know free tutoring is available? Want to book a session?"
• Seamless scheduling: Maya says yes, and within seconds, the AI Agent helps her find an available session that fits her schedule—no searching, no emails, no waiting.
• Engaging parents (if necessary): For younger students, the AI Agent can also reach out to parents.

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What’s most important here is the timing of outreach. Agents are tuned in to performance data, and therefore can reach out at the precise right time to reduce failure rates, without adding any burden to staff.

Use Case #5: Program Adherence

If you’ve ever found yourself asking:‍

How do we automate personalized check-ins without burdening our staff?

How can we improve our comms with AI to drive course and program completion?

Getting students enrolled is only half the battle. Keeping them engaged and ensuring they actually complete their programs? Another beast altogether.

Imagine this: A student, Mike, is in his second semester of an online degree program. He’s starting to miss assignment deadlines, and his attendance is declining. 

With AI agents that are connected directly to real-time data, you can act on this before it’s too late:

• Automated check-ins: The AI Agent sends Mike a friendly, proactive message: "Hey Alex, we noticed you haven’t logged into your coursework this week. Everything okay? Need help catching up?"
• Personalized support: Alex responds, says he’s struggling with time management. Your AI agent can provide tips, connect him with tutoring resources, or schedule a call with an academic advisor.
• Deadline reminders: You can automate personalized nudges from AI agents. Remind Mike about upcoming deadlines, class participation expectations, and key milestones to hit to stay on track.
• Motivational boosts: AI agents for education can also be used to encourage. "You’re halfway through the semester, Mike! Keep going—you’ve got this!"

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The result? A more automated way for you to encourage and keep students engaged without heavy involvement from staff.

Use Case #6: Student Re-Enrollment 

If you’ve ever found yourself asking:

How do we re-engage students who have paused their studies?

How can we focus on re-enrollment with so much work required for new admissions and onboarding?‍

‍How do we identify at-risk students more quickly?

A lot of programs don’t have the resources to track down and re-engage students at scale. AI agents change that.

Instead of waiting and hoping that students come back on their own, you can build triggers for agents to connect with students that have paused their studies, and guide them back to enrollment:

• Identifying at-risk students: AI agents analyze past enrollment patterns and current student actions to flag those that are showing signs of dropout.
• Personalized outreach: "Hey Chris, we know life gets busy. If you're thinking about finishing your degree, we have new flexible options that might work for you. Want to chat?"
• Removing obstacles: If financial concerns are a barrier, your AI agent can provide scholarship and payment plan options. If scheduling is an issue, it can highlight new online or evening class options. If it’s something more personal, your agent can escalate the conversation to an advisor.
• Guided re-enrollment: Students can get all the information they need to restart their journey without the usual administrative headaches.

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You can use AI agents to give students a second chance to reach their goals, on their own terms.

Use Case #7: Active Learner Support

If you’ve ever found yourself asking:

How can AI keep students engaged and motivated in their coursework?

What other resources can we offer to keep students more engaged in their studies?

Okay, so, you have all of your trigger-based workflows set up. What other ways can you use AI to engage students?

You can use AI agents for education to provide real-time academic guidance and assistance. Answer basic subject matter questions, build personalized schedules—support them as learners, not just students:

• Timely study reminders: "Hey Jake, your next assignment is due in three days. Need any help?"
• Personalized resource recommendations: Jake struggles with research papers, so your AI agent suggests writing center resources and relevant study guides.
• Real-time academic assistance: Instead of searching forums, Jake can ask the AI agent: “How do I format a citation in APA?” and get an instant answer.

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Every student learns differently, and your staff only has a limited amount of hours to manage that. You can pass a lot of that to AI, so human staff can primarily handle more intricate learner needs.

Use Case #8: Tuition Management

If you’ve ever found yourself asking:

Can we automate tuition processes in a secure way?

How can AI help students manage tuition payments and avoid enrollment holds?‍

‍How can we offer more timely assistance for student tuition plans?

You know how it goes. The financial situation of students can change quickly, sometimes unexpectedly. Sometimes students just miss deadlines, or don’t know what options are available.

AI agents take tuition management from reactive to proactive:

• Automated reminders: "Hey Ryan, your tuition payment is due next Friday. Need help setting up a payment plan?"
• 24/7 support: Instead of calling the bursar’s office, students can ask your AI agent: "How do I apply for financial aid?" or "What are my payment options?" and get instant answers.
• Crisis intervention: If a student can’t afford a payment, the AI agent connects them with a financial aid advisor before they’re dropped from classes.

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Ultimately it’s up to you how you want sensitive information to be handled. Your guardrails can be made as strict as you’d like. But, AI agents like Regal’s are compliant and secure, so it’s never a concern if student financial data is safe.

Scaling Student Success with AI Agents for Education

The reality is, students need a combination of delicate and proactive support, but might not know when or why.

That makes your life tough. That puts strain on your already-lean team.

AI agents bridge a lot of gaps for Education, and do so in a way that fits into your budget (becoming more and more cost effective over time). They don’t just react to student needs, but anticipate them, act on them, and allow your humans to focus on more delicate interactions.

Whether you’re looking to grow your program, give your students a more enjoyable experience, put less strain on your staff, or some combination of all three, AI agents can help immediately.

Ready to transform student engagement with AI?

• Request a demo
• Read more about how to build AI Agents

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AI Agents for Education FAQs

1. How can AI Agents improve student retention and reduce dropouts?

Student retention is one of the biggest challenges in education, and AI Agents play a crucial role in keeping students engaged and on track. AI-powered systems can:

1. Send personalized study reminders to ensure students don’t miss deadlines.
2. Provide real-time academic assistance by answering coursework-related questions instantly.
3. Identify early signs of disengagement (missed classes, late assignments) and proactively reach out with support.
4. Recommend personalized learning resources to help struggling students before they fall too far behind.

By automating engagement and intervention strategies, AI Agents help institutions improve retention rates and ensure students reach graduation.

2. Can AI Agents help with financial aid and tuition payments?

Absolutely! AI Agents help students navigate the often-confusing world of tuition and financial aid by:

• Sending automated reminders about upcoming payment deadlines.
• Explaining payment plan options and helping students find the best solution for their financial situation.
• Answering common questions like "How do I apply for financial aid?" or "What happens if I miss a payment?"
• Connecting students to financial aid advisors when more personalized assistance is needed.
  By removing barriers to tuition management, AI Agents help students stay financially on track and avoid unnecessary enrollment holds.

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3. How do AI Agents increase enrollment rates for schools and universities?

AI Agents streamline the enrollment process by ensuring prospective students get the support they need—without delays or frustration. They provide instant responses to inquiries, proactively follow up with students who abandon applications, and guide them through every step of enrollment.

By automating qualification and program matching, AI Agents also help students find the best-fit course or degree faster, reducing confusion and decision fatigue. The result? Higher application completion rates, reduced enrollment drop-offs, and a more efficient admissions process.

4. Are AI Agents replacing human advisors in education?

No—AI Agents are designed to enhance, not replace, human advisors. They handle repetitive, time-consuming tasks like answering FAQs, sending reminders, and scheduling appointments, allowing advisors to focus on high-value student interactions.

Instead of being overwhelmed by administrative work, advisors can dedicate more time to academic coaching, career guidance, and complex financial aid cases. AI Agents ensure every student gets the timely support they need—while allowing staff to focus where they’re needed most.

5. How can I integrate AI Agents into my school’s existing student management system?

AI Agents, like those from Regal, are built to seamlessly integrate with existing education technology. They connect with Student Information Systems (SIS), CRM platforms, Learning Management Systems (LMS), and communication tools to provide a unified, frictionless experience.

With minimal IT effort, AI Agents can be deployed to improve student engagement, automate key processes, and enhance the overall student experience—without disrupting existing workflows.

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