SUCCESS STORY SUMMARY
Challenge:
Virginia Beach City Public Schools needed to manage overwhelming inbound communications while maintaining high customer service standards.
Solution:
The district implemented Let’s Talk and the AI-powered Let’s Talk Assistant chatbot to streamline inquiries, automate responses, and improve accessibility.
Results:
With fewer emails, faster answers, and 24/7 support, VBCPS saved staff time, improved engagement, and built trust with stakeholders.
Located in southeast Virginia, Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) serves over 63,000 students and 14,000 staff. With a large district community, VBCPS faced an overwhelming volume of questions, concerns, and requests pouring into central office inboxes.
“Let’s Talk and the chatbot elevate the way we serve our families and give the comfort of knowing they are being heard,” said Nicole Ingalls, who was VBCPS Executive Office Assistant and Let’s Talk Lead at the time of this interview. “Feedback from our district community helps us better understand their perspectives and satisfy their needs.”
Staff needed a way to manage the volume of inbound communications while still providing timely, helpful, and friendly service across departments.
In July 2021, VBCPS launched Let’s Talk to streamline customer service and route inquiries to the right staff member through a unified inbox and workflow system. At the same time, the district introduced Let’s Talk Assistant, the first AI-powered chatbot built for K–12, to automatically respond to frequently asked questions.
The district first rolled out the platform at the central office, then expanded its use across departments. The transportation department, one of the busiest for daily inquiries, saw significant benefits:
“At first, the department feared the platforms would open the door to influxes of communication and bombard staff,” Ingalls said. “Now they see that Let’s Talk and the chatbot equip staff with tools to answer inquiries efficiently and reduce work by resolving simple questions before they even reach staff inboxes.”
To ensure success, Ingalls provided hands-on support to help staff get comfortable with the platform, meeting with staff one-on-one to discuss how other departments used Let’s Talk and the chatbot together for communications.
The Let’s Talk Assistant chatbot, powered by a database of more than 500 FAQs, helps resolve stakeholder needs in real time — in English or Spanish — and turns questions it can’t answer into dialogues routed to the appropriate team member.
“The chatbot gives our district always-on capabilities, which gives our families and stakeholders a convenient way to get in touch at the time that works best for them,” Ingalls said. “We’ve noticed an increase of chatbot submissions during the weekend, which has helped our team provide superior customer service 24-7.”
Since launch, the chatbot has answered over 1,300 questions, with only 8% of questions requiring escalation to a human. During the 2021–2022 school year, Let’s Talk Assistant recorded an average customer experience score of 8.2 out of 10.
“I absolutely love that our families have a tool that helps them get information quickly and that we’re serving them so well,” Ingalls said. “Anything that we can offer our families to make their lives easier and make them feel heard is more than worthwhile. Let’s Talk and the chatbot truly enhance our community engagement.”
Let’s Talk has also improved communication organization and accountability. Internal notes help teams track progress, and dashboards provide real-time insights into community needs and service performance.
“Let’s Talk’s immediate feedback helps our district measure how well we are meeting the needs of our community and helps us consider areas of improvement,” Ingalls said. “The needs and preferences of our community constantly change, but Let’s Talk helps us stay ahead of the curve and rethink how we can best serve our stakeholders.”
With more families preferring messaging and digital communication over phone calls, VBCPS can now meet families where they are — and when they need help most.
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