Published September 03, 2024

Ambassa AI: An App for Student Ambassadors, by Student Ambassadors

Staff Writer

At NYU, opportunities to innovate are everywhere. In and out of the classroom, students meet challenges with fresh ideas that become solutions. That’s what happened when NYU Student Ambassadors Taran Agarwal and Arjun Mehta spoke with their supervisor at the admissions office about the time-consuming process of onboarding new team members. “Why not harness the burgeoning potential of artificial intelligence to streamline the program’s training process?” they asked.

It wasn’t long before the NYU Student Ambassadors and prospective students had a brand-new tool in their tool kit. Ambassa AI, an easy-to-use app that provides quick, comprehensive answers to questions about NYU’s undergraduate programs, admission requirements, events, and more, was born.

The NYU Ambassadors program is a critical part of a prospective student’s journey through the college application process. Whether it’s on a campus tour, at an event, or over the phone, student ambassadors walk NYU applicants and their families through the admissions process. What’s more, they answer any and all questions about life at NYU. For Taran, a Quantitative Economics major at the College of Arts and Science, being a student ambassador was among the most significant and transformative aspects of his college experience.

“All the ambassadors are incredibly passionate, supportive, and driven individuals. This creates an inspiring and motivating environment,” Taran says.

So when the idea sparked to build technology that could help make the program run smoother, Taran and Arjun knew they had to give it a shot.

A group of students working in the Tandon Makerspace.

Ideation and Collaboration

NYU Ambassadors field questions about all ten of NYU’s undergraduate schools and colleges and over 50 fields of study. Taran and Arjun planned to take all that information and synthesize it using artificial intelligence. They got right to work on Ambassa AI.

Taran and Arjun figured an AI-run app would be a game changer. It would help both prospective students and the student ambassadors. But neither had any prior experience developing AI. They were impressed by the power of ChatGPT when they first used it and were eager to get involved with that kind of technology.

“We spent several months brainstorming and setting up meetings with potential AI engineers to explore possible solutions,” Arjun recalls. He majors in Business and Technology Management at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering.

Once they assembled their team, they collected and organized all the relevant data from NYU and the ambassador team. After developing the chatbot, the team fed it nearly three thousand questions in order to review its answers and refine the technology.

“The engineers handled the technical development, while Taran and I focused on rigorous testing. This phase was crucial to ensure the bot did not produce inaccurate or confusing responses—a common issue with AI models,” says Arjun.

Ready for the Reveal

Finally, after a four-month process, the Ambassa AI team delivered their final product. Much like ChatGPT, Ambassa AI’s interface is designed to look like a messenger app. Its chatbot opens with a greeting, and suggests topics like “Waitlist Decision Day.”

Andrew Zihao Wang, a junior studying Music Theory and Composition in Concert Music at the NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, first heard about Ambassa AI during one of the team’s regular training sessions. Next semester, he’ll serve as the supervisor for the Student Ambassador program. He’s thrilled to have the mobile app as a tool.

“It came in handy for a lot of common questions and saved time and confusion. The AI feature is able to tackle a lot of common questions that sometimes require complex research,” says Zihao.

Building Toward a Bright Future

Now that Arjun and Taran have successfully developed an AI-based mobile app, they look forward to building on that experience. In fact, Taran started his own AI automation company, Simplify Tech. Much like Ambassa AI, Simplify Tech builds custom automations for businesses across various industries.

Arjun plans to use the entrepreneurial skills he gained in the process of creating a successful product from the ground up. After graduation, he joined StartupGrind as a partnerships manager where he’ll continue to help early-stage start-ups grow.

“Creating a technology that is actively used by NYU is incredibly fulfilling.” Arjun says. “It’s gratifying to know that we are contributing to the university community and assisting student employees who are in the same positions we once were.”