This year's AMA Higher Ed Symposium revealed something we heard across dozens of conversations: AI overwhelm is real, and it's affecting even the most forward-thinking institutions.
Teams are experimenting with new tools, trying to sort signal from noise, and working to build strategies that are realistic for faculty. It's a lot to navigate all at once.
But amid all that complexity, one insight kept surfacing: the enrollment challenges schools are working hardest to solve all point to the same opportunity—AI search.
1. Students Have Already Shifted. Now It's Our Turn.
Prospective students are using ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews to discover programs, compare options, and make decisions. This isn't emerging—it's already here.
Our latest enrollment data shows what this means:
- AI and organic search leads convert to application starts at 2–3x the rate of paid channels
- They arrive more prepared, more intentional, and further along in their decision-making
- Understanding AI search means understanding where your best prospects are coming from
This is the moment schools need to act. In AI search, early visibility builds on itself. Schools that show up strongly now will gain momentum, while those that wait may find it harder to catch up.That’s why schools should be asking every partner the same questions:
- What evidence do you have that this improves AI visibility?
- What outcomes have you driven for institutions like ours?
- How do you measure success in AI-generated discovery?
In a landscape this new, confidence shouldn’t come from promises. It should come from proof.
2. AI Search Is Where Enrollment Outcomes Are Shifting
Every conversation at AMA reflected the same reality: front-line teams are actively experimenting while leadership works to define broader strategy. That's a natural tension when navigating rapid change.
AI search is where that work becomes most concrete—and most urgent.
The institutions that prioritize it now will be positioned to capture the strongest leads in the channel where intent and readiness are already highest.
3. Getting Ready Is the Real Work Ahead
Schools consistently identified the same challenges:
- Optimizing content for AI-generated answers
- Building a shared AI search strategy across departments
- Clarifying ownership between marketing, enrollment, and IT
- Developing AI literacy across teams
These aren't technology problems. They're organizational readiness challenges. And they're solvable. Addressing AI search directly helps close these gaps.
4. AI Search Is Where You Can Make Real Progress Now
AMA conversations made this clear: enrollment leaders are ready to move from exploration to action.
AI search is where that action becomes tangible. You can build team literacy, align stakeholders, optimize content, and improve program visibility—starting now, not in some distant phase two.
It's where you can apply AI strategy in ways that strengthen the funnel immediately.
The Bottom Line: Start Where It Matters Most
AI overwhelm is real, and no one expects schools to solve everything at once.
AI search is the highest-impact, most actionable place to begin. It's where student behavior has already shifted, where the opportunity is clearest, and where focused effort creates meaningful advantage.