AI and The Future of Family Engagement
AI talk is everywhere in higher ed. And yeah, it can sound like one more complicated, overwhelming thing on your plate. But here’s the good news: AI doesn’t have to be intimidating.
In fact, it can actually make your life easier and your family engagement efforts stronger.
When James Bright (our CTO and co-founder) and I hosted our recent webinar, we wanted to do two things:
Demystify AI because behind the acronyms and jargon, it’s not magic.
Show how AI is already built into CampusESP so you can try it today without adding staff, budgets, or gray hairs.
Here’s my plain-English recap of our discussion.
So, what kind of AI are we even talking about?
When people say “AI,” it can sound mysterious. But at its core, it’s really just a supercharged autocomplete — predicting the next best word again and again until it builds an answer using a lot of math and pattern recognition.
We started with early machine learning, the “if this, then that” kind that powered tools that run things like Amazon’s product suggestions. Then came advanced machine learning, which could recognize patterns and make better predictions.
Now we’re in the era of Large Language Models (LLMs), the kind of generative AI that can actually create. It can draft an email, summarize a thread, translate a message, or answer a family’s question in plain English.
From there, things get more advanced with techniques that make LLMs even smarter. LLMs are great generalists, but we can improve their accuracy with Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) — which lets AI reference your real documents, FAQs, and deadlines —and supervised fine-tuning (SFT), which trains the model on your best answers and your preferred style.
CampusESP’s evolution and why AI makes sense
CampusESP has always evolved the same way good tech does: solving one real problem at a time.
Ten years ago, we started by helping schools keep up with rising family expectations about communication.
Then came tools for retention, enrollment, and parent giving.
Now, AI is simply the next layer, woven into the work you’re already doing to inform, nudge, and support families.
On the horizon for CampusESP are instance-specific chatbots powered by LLMs + RAG. Instead of giving families generic answers, these chatbots can reference your own content, your portal posts, emails, events, and even public-facing web pages so families get faster, more accurate guidance without adding work for your team.
Think of it like the iPhone. The first version didn’t even have copy-and-paste. Features roll out over time, but the core mission doesn’t change. The same is true for CampusESP: we keep layering on tools that solve the challenges families and campuses face right now
What AI can do for family engagement today
AI helps you meet families where they are by:
Getting them answers faster
Instead of scrolling through pages of FAQs, parents can ask a question (“What do we do about a registration hold?”) and get the next-best step instantly.Keeping the message consistent
Families get the same clear guidance whether they’re reading an email, checking the portal, or scrolling CampusESP’s Discussion Boards.Lightening staff workload
AI can draft a first version of a message, summarize a long thread, or flag questions that need attention so your team spends time where human judgment matters most.
What this looks like inside of CampusESP
AI is already built into the platform to help you work faster and communicate more clearly, without extra setup or training. You can:
Write with AI
Draft and edit posts or emails, adjust tone for families vs. students, and clean up length or grammar.Translate instantly
Convert messages into 12+ languages so more families stay informed.Summarize for text
Turn any post or email into a short, SMS-ready version for multi-channel communication.Discussion board assist
Let AI flag inappropriate comments and surface helpful replies.Improve accessibility
Automatically generate image descriptions for posts and ads.
Learn how UMBC and Framingham State University are already using AI to elevate their family engagement strategies.
Meet DaveAI (separate from the product, but a great example)
We also built something on the side called DaveAI, not as a CampusESP feature, but as a simple example of what’s possible when AI is trained on the right content.
I created DaveAI for one reason: people kept asking me for quick answers about CampusESP, family engagement strategy, case study data, and trends we’re seeing across 450+ campuses. And while I’d love to be available 24/7, I’m only one person with two kids, a company to run, and frankly not enough coffee.
DaveAI is powered by my LinkedIn posts, talks, blogs, and research, so it can answer questions, pull real stats, and point you to helpful resources in seconds.
Think of it as your quick-access CampusESP companion: always on, focused on facts, and up to date.
And that’s the real takeaway: AI is only as good as the data and voice you give it. When you combine your knowledge and context with AI’s speed, you get a tool that helps you work smarter and spend more time on the human moments that matter most.
Where we go from here
We’re building this step by step, just like we’ve always done, not with flashy features for the sake of it, but with tools that solve real problems for real people.
So if AI still feels overwhelming, take a breath. You don’t need to master every technical term, you just need to put it to work on the problems that matter most. Once you do, you’ll see the real impact: fewer bottlenecks, stronger family relationships, and more time for the moments that actually matter.
That’s the impact AI should have. And once you feel it, you won’t want to go back.
