Bilingual AI Chatbot Helps Colleges Communicate with Spanish Language Speakers

Ocelot, a provider of conversational chatbots for higher ed institutions, has announced a bilingual English-Spanish chatbot. Designed to help colleges communicate with native Spanish-language speaking students and parents, the tool can be customized with a school's colors, mascot and other user interface features.

The chatbot runs on an IBM artificial intelligence engine, and its Spanish-language AI content libraries "build on Ocelot's work over the past two decades creating multi-lingual publications and videos for colleges," the company said in a news announcement. Rather than using automated translation, the bot has been "trained with vocabulary and terminology consistent with U.S. Department of Education Spanish guidelines. (Additional content is available in Farsi, Creole, Cantonese and Mandarin.)

"Our mission is to make a better life more accessible for students," said Ocelot CEO Damon Vangelis, in a statement. "This new innovation is a great resource for parents of first-generation college students who struggle to understand complex topics like financial aid and housing."

For more information, visit the Ocelot site.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • The AI Show

    Register for Free to Attend the World's Greatest Show for All Things AI in EDU

    The AI Show @ ASU+GSV, held April 5–7, 2025, at the San Diego Convention Center, is a free event designed to help educators, students, and parents navigate AI's role in education. Featuring hands-on workshops, AI-powered networking, live demos from 125+ EdTech exhibitors, and keynote speakers like Colin Kaepernick and Stevie Van Zandt, the event offers practical insights into AI-driven teaching, learning, and career opportunities. Attendees will gain actionable strategies to integrate AI into classrooms while exploring innovations that promote equity, accessibility, and student success.

  • illustrated university campus with modern buildings, glowing binary code streaming straight and dynamically from multiple directions, integrated into the architecture, surrounded by stylized trees, grass, and walkways

    3 Ways Institutions Can Become Data-Driven Organizations

    Faced with declining enrollments and changing demographics, colleges and universities must make use of data and analytics to better serve students.

  • NVIDIA DGX line

    NVIDIA Intros Personal AI Supercomputers

    NVIDIA has introduced a new lineup of AI-powered computing solutions designed to accelerate enterprise workloads.

  • digital network with glowing blue and red lines, featuring multiple red arrows shifting in different directions

    Report: Attackers Change Tactics as Ransomware Payoffs Decline

    Attackers are changing tactics as they collect less money from ransomware payoffs, according to a new report from Chainalysis, a blockchain analytics firm.