Rewiring recruitment: what AI changes, and what it doesn’t
By Tracey Jones, Chief Marketing Officer, Navitas
AI is already reshaping how students discover and compare study options. The opportunity for Navitas is to embrace that change while protecting the human trust that helps students make one of the biggest decisions of their lives.
At our recent Business Partners Conference in Sri Lanka, I had the privilege of hosting two breakout sessions on a subject generating interest and lively debate across our sector: how artificial intelligence is reshaping student recruitment.
University leaders and education agents considered some practical questions. How is AI changing search? Where is it genuinely improving recruitment and marketing? Where might its influence be overstated? And where does the human relationship remain essential?
The engagement in both rooms was extraordinary. The discussion was energetic, opinions were strong and nobody treated AI as an abstract future issue. Everyone could already see its influence in the questions students ask, the information they bring to conversations and the way they form an initial shortlist of institutions and destinations.
AI is already part of the student journey. The important question is how we respond.
The search starts earlier
For years, recruitment marketing focused on helping students find channels that institutions could largely control: websites, campaigns and social media. AI is disrupting that model. Instead of receiving a list of sources, students can now receive an answer. The zero click world is already here.
A 2026 controlled study found that, when Google displayed an AI Overview, the proportion of searches ending without a publisher click rose from 54% to 72%. EAB also found that 46% of US high school students were using AI during their college search by late 2025, up from 26% only months earlier. Separate 2026 research found that almost three quarters of students who used AI in their college search discovered institutions they had not previously considered.
Discovery is moving upstream into platforms where universities and agents have less visibility over how recommendations are produced. Search engine optimisation still matters, but we must also consider whether our institutions, courses, and student experiences appear accurately in AI generated answers.
Those answers draw on much more than an official website. AI tools use a wider information ecosystem that includes forums, reviews, community platforms and third-party sources. A 2025 Semrush analysis showed that Reddit and Wikipedia featured heavily among the sources cited by AI. Our reputation is therefore shaped by the experiences and conversations people share about us, not only by the content we publish ourselves.
This landscape will keep changing as AI tools incorporate more formats and sources. It is a moving feast, and marketers need to be ready to adapt.
More information still needs interpretation
One of the most interesting findings from the latest Navitas Agent Perception Survey captures the tension clearly: 78% of agents said students are doing more research with AI before approaching an education agent, while 80% said students still rely on agents to validate and interpret what they find.
Students may arrive with more information, but it can lack context, contain inaccuracies or fail to reflect their individual needs. They still need someone who understands their market, ambitions, and circumstances.
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AI can compare tuition fees |
A trusted adviser can explain what those costs mean for a student and their family |
|---|---|
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AI can summarise visa information |
An experienced agent can explain how it applies and when official advice is needed |
|
AI can recommend an institution |
Advisers, current students and alumni can bring the experience to life and help a student judge the fit |
What we heard in the room
The agent and university partners in the room shared practical ways they are already using AI across the student pipeline, including enquiry management, service and advice. Participants also recognised its value for recruitment and marketing teams. AI can help adapt content for different markets, prioritise leads, respond faster to common questions and support the production of creative content and virtual experiences.
The view across both sessions was also clear. Students may use AI to explore their options, compare destinations and prepare better questions. Yet a generated response cannot fully replace a conversation with someone who understands their hopes and concerns. It cannot replicate an agent’s local credibility and industry knowledge, or the reassurance a college representative can offer a nervous parent.
Choosing to study in another country is a major financial and emotional decision for a student and often for their whole family. Human validation and connection remain central, particularly for internationally bound students.
Research presented during the session reinforced this point. Among students surveyed by EAB, in person experiences such as campus tours, fairs and information sessions remained the most trusted source. AI chatbots ranked last.
What should remain human
The sessions in Sri Lanka left me optimistic. AI can make discovery faster and help students ask better questions. It can also make our marketing and service more responsive. Our task is to use those capabilities thoughtfully while protecting the judgement, empathy and reassurance that students and families continue to value.
AI will increasingly start and shape the search. People will still help students interpret their choices and feel confident enough to make a decision. The greatest opportunity for our sector lies in combining better technology with the human trust that has always been central to international education.
And one final disclosure: AI and I shaped this article together. That seems fitting for a conversation about learning where the technology helps and where the human voice still matters.