AI chatbot for schools.
Parents researching independent schools ask the same things every fall: when the application deadline is, what tuition covers, whether you offer financial aid, and if there's a bus from their town. A chatbot trained on your admissions, tuition and transportation pages answers them on weeknights and weekends, when families actually do their research, and hands each serious inquiry to your admissions office.
14 days free, then a free plan or from $8 a month. No card required.
Visitor: When are applications due for 6th grade?
Chatbot: Applications for next school year are due January 15. For middle school, the process includes the application, a student visit day, teacher recommendations and either the ISEE or our own entrance assessment. After January 15 we accept applications on a rolling basis while places remain.
Admissions page
Visitor: Is there a bus from Glen Park?
Chatbot: Yes. Route 3 stops at the Glen Park library at 7:15 each morning and drops off there at 3:45. Bus service is $1,850 a year, billed with tuition, and you sign up in the enrollment portal.
Transportation page
Visitor: Our son has ADHD and gets support at his current school. Would he get a place?
Chatbot: Admissions decisions are made by our admissions committee, so I can't say whether a place will be offered. Our Learning Support page describes the help we offer, and our director of admissions would be glad to talk it through with you privately. Leave your name and email, and please keep your son's details for that conversation.
Human handoff
Powered by ChatBento
12 questions customers ask schools
The questions schools hear most. Copy them as a Q&A template, add your answers, and the chatbot answers them in your words.
- 1When is the application deadline for next fall, and do you take applications after it?
- 2What does tuition include, and are there extra fees for books, trips or a laptop?
- 3How do we apply for financial aid, and when is the aid deadline?
- 4Do you require the ISEE or SSAT for middle school applicants?
- 5When is your next open house, and can we book a private tour?
- 6Is there a bus from our town, and what does transportation cost?
- 7What's the uniform, and where do we buy it?
- 8Do you offer a sibling discount?
- 9How much is the enrollment deposit, and is it refundable?
- 10Do you have before-school and after-school care?
- 11What support do you offer students with learning differences?
- 12What's the average class size in the lower school?
Set it up in four steps
- 1
Point it at your website
Enter your site's address and ChatBento reads your pages. For schools, make sure these are on the site or added as docs:
- Admissions page: deadlines, steps, testing and visit days
- Tuition and fees page, including the deposit, payment plans and refund terms
- Financial aid page and the aid application timeline
- Open house and tour schedule
- Transportation routes, uniform guide and before-school and after-school programs
- Parent handbook sections on the school day, calendar and lunch
- 2
Answer the 12 questions
Copy the questions above, paste them into ChatBento as Q&As and write your answers. These are what visitors ask first, so a clear answer here covers most chats.
- 3
Set the greeting and handoff
Add the email that receives handoffs and a greeting that sets expectations, for example: “Welcome! I can help with admissions, tuition, financial aid, open houses and transportation.”
- 4
Paste one line on your WordPress site
Many independent schools run WordPress, often built by a web firm that specializes in schools. The install guide shows where the snippet goes.
Install on WordPress
What it answers, and what it hands to you
Hand these to a person
The chatbot collects the visitor's name and email or phone, then sends you the whole conversation.
- Whether a particular child will be offered a place
- Financial aid questions about a family's own finances or award
- Anything about a current student's grades, behavior, health or records
- Safeguarding or wellbeing concerns about any child: handed to staff immediately
- Learning support and accommodations for a specific child
- Enrollment contracts, withdrawals and tuition refund requests
Student privacy and safeguarding come first
The chatbot answers from your public admissions and family pages; it never discusses a specific student's records, grades, health or discipline, and it never promises a place or a financial aid amount. If a message suggests a child may be at risk, it gives your safeguarding contact and emergency number and hands the conversation to staff right away instead of carrying on. Ask families to share details about their child directly with admissions, not in the chat.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. ChatBento answers only from the content you give it, and says so when it doesn't know.
Which plan fits schools
Typical volume: 1,500 to 4,500 AI replies a month. An independent K-12 school in admissions season, October to February, with 15,000 to 30,000 site visits a month, where 4 to 5% of visitors open the chat and ask two or three questions each; the rest of the year runs far lower.
Start on the Free plan (50 messages a month) to try it, then move up when the chat gets busy.
Schools questions. Answered.
Can the chatbot keep up during admissions season?
That's when it helps most. Deadline, testing, tour and tuition questions get answered at any hour, and families who want to talk are passed to admissions with their name, email and the grade they're applying for.
Will it discuss current students?
No. Set it up to answer from public pages only. Questions about a student's grades, health or behavior go to the right staff member, and families are asked not to share those details in chat.
Can it tell families how much financial aid they'll get?
No. It explains how to apply, the deadlines and how the process works, straight from your financial aid page. Award amounts come from your aid committee.
How much does an AI chatbot for schools cost?
ChatBento has a Free plan with 50 AI messages a month, then Hobby at $8/month (2,000 messages), Standard at $30/month (10,000 messages), Pro at $100/month (40,000 messages). At typical volume for schools, 1,500 to 4,500 AI replies a month, Standard at $30/month covers it, with up to 3 chatbots. Every account starts with a 14-day free trial, no card required.
Related industries
- AI chatbot for daycares and childcare centers“Do you have any infant openings, and how long is the waitlist?”
- AI chatbot for online course creators“Is the course self-paced, or are there live sessions I have to attend?”
- AI chatbot for nonprofits“Can I set up a monthly gift, and how do I change the amount or card later?”
Use cases for schools
- FAQ automationTurn a static FAQ page into answers visitors can ask for. An AI chatbot uses your FAQ and Q&As to give exact answers to common questions, worded however visitors ask them.
- Multilingual visitorsSupport visitors who write in Spanish, German, French or other languages without translating your site. The AI chatbot replies in the language each visitor writes in, using your existing content.
Terms to know
Answer visitors while you're closed. Free to start, then from $8 a month.
14-day free trial. No card required.