A student holding a smartphone showing the University of Melbourne Stop 1 AI Assistant chat interface

Stop 1 AI Assistant trial

A new way to get 24/7 answers to your student admin questions.

Meet your new Stop 1 AI Assistant!

Say hello to a smarter, faster way to get help with your university admin questions. We're launching this AI Assistant to give you instant answers, 24/7.

This is a trial version, meaning it's learning new skills every day. Your questions and feedback will help it grow into a powerful tool for all your university needs.

How to use the AI Assistant

  1. Look for the floating chat icon. You’ll find me at the bottom right corner of some university webpages, including this one! Just click on the icon to start chatting.
  2. Type your question in plain English, like you're talking to a person. I’ll do my best to give you a clear answer, fast.
  3. The AI Assistant is designed exclusively for general university administration questions and can help with straightforward enquiries and everyday processes. I can’t assist with complex or sensitive issues. For personal or complex matters, please contact a staff member.
  4. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll point you to someone who does, like the Stop 1 team or your faculty.
  5. No personal info, please. Don’t share your student ID, address, or anything private in chat.

Your privacy is protected

Your security is our priority.

  • I don’t need you to log in – your questions are anonymous
  • I can’t access your personal student record, academic results, or any other private information.

What's next? The future is bright!

This is just the beginning! Your AI Assistant is constantly evolving. Go on ask a question!

Frequently asked questions

  • The University of Melbourne is collecting information from interactions with the Stop-1 AI Assistant, including questions and the assistant’s answers. The recorded information is de-identified and does not include student ID’s.

    When you ask a question to the Stop-1 AI Assistant, the system uses your information in the following ways:

    1. To answer the specific question
    1. To understand how the assistant is used by students
    1. To check  that the assistant is working correctly and is providing correct answers
    1. Questions and answers are stored securely and deleted according to the University’s Records Management Policy.
    1. Information is stored in Australia, specifically in servers contracted by the University in Sydney, NSW.

  • The Stop-1 AI Assistant uses official University of Melbourne systems, websites, and internal resources to answer your questions.  We aim to provide reliable, up-to-date information. However, since this is a new service, the AI is still learning. So, there may be times when the information isn’t quite right.

    If you’re ever unsure or have questions about what the AI tells you, contact Stop-1 for personalised support.

  • We plan to add more features in 2025 and 2026. Stay tuned!

  • The University securely stores questions and answers and deletes them according to the University’s Records Management Policy.

    The only people who can see a user’s question and the assistant’s responses are authorised University of Melbourne Student & Scholarly Services and Business Services staff members. Faculty staff including teachers, lecturers, etc, and other students cannot see any inputs or responses.

    Recorded information is de-identified and does not include student or staff IDs. It is not shared with any external organisations outside the University of Melbourne.

  • We aim to provide reliable and up to date information. Since this is a new service, the AI is still learning and improving. So, there may be times when the information isn’t completely accurate.

    If you believe that any information provided by the assistant is incorrect, contact Stop-1.

  • Not right now. The Stop-1 AI Assistant can only understand questions and answers in English. The assistant will try to understand student language where possible.

  • No, the assistant doesn’t use Spark. Spark is meant for academic and global information.

  • AI helps us provide quick and easy support. You can get instant answers to common questions at any time.

    The AI Assistant helps our student support services by quickly providing you with the right information . This means our staff can spend more time with you when you need help. This reflects our commitment to creating a responsive, inclusive and student-centred experience at the University of Melbourne.

    An Artificial intelligence (AI) assistant (or agent) is a tool that lets you ask questions in plain language and generates plain language answers. An AI assistant searches its source information (i.e. the University’s Knowledge-Base Articles and website) without needing manual updates. Find out more about AI on   the University’s website.

  • Environmental concerns are a real and valid consideration for generative AI development. Many models create a large carbon footprint, resulting from the significant data and computing power required to build and run them.

    The University’s chosen AI development partner, Salesforce, has a strong focus on minimising the environmental impact of its AI approach including:

    • Right-sizing models to avoiding unnecessary computing energy, while providing visibility into resource impact through initiatives like AI Energy Score
    • Developing and deploying efficient AI models, adopting green software practises and optimisation techniques
    • Enabling all Salesforce AI implementations to reuse models and iterate on pre-existing work, removing the need to train new models from scratch.

    You can read more about Salesforce's AI sustainability approach here.

  • The University will ask widely to find a more personal name for the assistant. Stay tuned!