By Dr. Wendy Davis, Chief Experience Officer at Agile Cloud Consulting
The Education Summit blends the energy of a reunion with the innovation of a tech conference, enhanced by thought leadership and a glimpse into the future. Last week in Chicago, it was clear that the future is now, and it comes in the form of agentic AI.
My first job in EdTech was with Systems and Computer Technology (SCT), the company that developed the Banner Student Information System (SIS). When I joined in the late 1990s, our product teams had developed a proof-of-concept product called BannerQuest. The idea was simple. You type a question into the system, and it would scavenge the data to produce an answer. You could ask a question like, “Who qualifies for the Dean’s List this semester?” It would “understand the criteria” for the Dean’s list, search the data for students who met those criteria, and produce a list of students.
Twenty-five years ago, it was a challenge to simply retrieve data from Student Information Systems. The idea that you could ask a question in business language and be presented with a response seemed futuristic. The concept of BannerQuest was grounded in technology called Natural Language Inc (NLI), a precursor to Natural Language Processing (NPL). The ideas were sound, but the technology was still emerging. The product was eventually abandoned. We had to wait for technology, data models, and tools to progress before we could realize the vision of easily generated natural language queries.
The future we dreamed of on the eve of the new millennium is here. Not only does technology enable natural language queries, we’ve surpassed that vision and are in the middle of the AI wave (some may say a tsunami). The Salesforce Education Summit in Chicago reminded us how far we have come on the AI journey and where we are headed on the evolutionary roadmap.
The First Wave: Predictive AI
How can we identify students who are “at risk” or struggling academically? Predictive AI offers powerful solutions by analyzing key indicators and patterns in student behavior. Are they attending class regularly? Logging into the online course system? How are they performing on assignments? By partnering with institutional research, schools can define the most relevant risk indicators. With AI-driven technology, these signals are surfaced to faculty and staff in real-time, enabling proactive intervention and support. The key is leveraging AI to find meaningful signals amid the vast amounts of data, ensuring that students receive the help they need before challenges escalate.
The Second Wave: Copilots
Generative AI, like Einstein Copilot, represents a significant shift in how institutions may choose to manage recruiting and admissions. By automating tasks such as drafting personalized responses and extracting key details from communications, AI has the potential to enhance efficiency and free up staff to focus on deeper engagement with prospective students. AI should be seen as a powerful assistant in the admissions process. Our admissions colleagues will continue to provide human oversight and maintain authentic connections with students.
The Third Wave: Agentforce (*You are Here)
Agentic AI operates by receiving an input—such as a question or inquiry—understanding it, and responding autonomously without human intervention. This isn’t magic; rather, it builds upon the foundations of predictive AI and Einstein Copilot. The key to its effectiveness lies in the quality and depth of the data it has access to.
The real power of Agentforce lies in its ability to make sense of structured institutional data such as knowledge articles or an extensive library of institutional processes. Access to vast amounts of data allows the Agent to produce precise, context-aware outputs tailored to each inquiry. While Agentforce manages its queue of inquiries, staff can focus on the human-centric aspects of their work, such as personalized student support and complex decision-making.
With Agentic AI, agents should be designed with a clear purpose, focused on a specific use case and function. The key question is: What problem are you trying to solve? An effective AI agent should be built to address that challenge directly.
Parting Thoughts
The Salesforce Education Summit consistently offers a thoughtful blend of emerging technology trends and the future direction of the education industry. There’s no doubt that the business of education has evolved, with increasing pressure to deliver cost-effective, efficient programs that provide immediate value to students. As a result, institutions must embrace agility and adaptability, rethinking how they deliver education to meet the changing needs of learners and the workforce.
AI is undeniably part of the future of education, and I’m all in! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to dig up an old copy of BannerQuest.
