Preparing Your GSU Website Content for Search and AI

Search and AI tools can make Georgia State information easier to discover, but these tools depend on the quality and consistency of the information available to them.

If GSU websites provide different answers to the same question, technology cannot automatically know which answer the university considers authoritative.

That is why preparing content for search and AI begins with something much more fundamental: accurate, authoritative and connected information.

Search Is Moving From Pages to Answers

Traditional search primarily matches a user’s words with webpages.

A user may receive several links and then have to open the pages, read them, determine what matters and make the connections themselves.

Connected or advanced search creates the opportunity to bring together information about:

·      People

·      Programs

·      Research

·      Resources

Instead of ending the experience with a list of links, a user could continue asking questions such as:

·      What degree could I pursue?

·      Who teaches this subject?

·      How do I apply?

Good Search and AI Start With Good Information

Before worrying about how content will appear in AI, focus on the information itself. Ask:

1. Is this information accurate?

2. Is there a clear authoritative source?

3. Does the same information appear differently elsewhere at GSU?

4. Are we maintaining unnecessary duplicate copies?

5. Is the information connected to related people, programs, resources or services?

Search and AI become more useful when the underlying information is trustworthy and relationships between information are clear.

Example

Imagine a user asks a search or AI tool about the application deadline for a GSU program.

If one GSU page says March 1 and another says March 15, the technology is working with conflicting university information.

The solution is not simply a better AI tool. The university first needs to determine which information is authoritative, correct the source and reduce unnecessary conflicting copies. The workshop captures this simply: “AI can’t fix bad information.”

Connect Knowledge Beyond Pages

Preparing content for search and AI also means thinking beyond individual webpages.

A faculty member can connect to expertise, research, programs, courses and research centers. A program can connect to faculty, careers, admissions, scholarships and courses.

Those relationships help search systems understand more than where a word appears. They help create connections between the information Georgia State already has.

Keep the Focus on People

Ultimately, connected content is not about adopting technology for technology’s sake. The goal is to help people move more easily from:

·      A person to research to a program

·      A program to faculty to careers

·      A question to an answer to a resource

·      A need to the next step

Better-connected information can support websites, search and AI while creating a more consistent experience across Georgia State.

Not better websites in isolation. Not AI for the sake of AI. A better-connected Georgia State.

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