Off and Running with Aristides: UofL’s New AI-Powered Student Concierge

The University of Louisville is preparing to release Aristides, an always-available conversational assistant that will help students find UofL information, navigate campus life and connect with the right university resources—all from within the Student Portal. 

University life comes with questions: Where can I find financial aid information? How do I change my major? Students often need answers about enrollment deadlines, advising, campus services and other university topics outside traditional office hours. Finding those answers can require searching several websites, systems and office emails. Aristides is designed to put those answers on the fast track. 

Developed by the Innovation unit and the Integrative Design & Development (IDD) team in Information Technology Services (ITS), Aristides will appear as a conversational tool within the Student Portal. The portal is UofL’s digital hub where students can view their information and access resources from across the university. With Aristides, students can ask questions in everyday language and receive answers at any time based on official university information. The goal is simple: place help in a digital space students already use. 

Who or What Is Aristides, and How Do You Say the Name? 

The name Aristides comes from the ancient Greek words aristos, meaning “best,” and eidos, meaning “type” or “kind.” Together, the name suggests “best of its kind.” IDD also chose the name in honor of Aristides, the chestnut racehorse known as the “little red pony” who won the first Kentucky Derby in 1875. The horse was named for Aristides the Just, an ancient Athenian statesman and general remembered for honesty, fairness and integrity. Since 1987, a bronze statue of the Derby winner at full stride has stood near the entrance to the Kentucky Derby Museum and the Churchill Downs paddock. 

There is no single required pronunciation of Aristides. You may hear versions such as “air-uh-STY-deez,” “ar-uh-STEE-deez” or “uh-RIS-tuh-deez.” Choose the one that feels most natural—we welcome them all. 

From an Idea to a UofL-Built Student Resource 

UofL’s work on Aristides began as part of a broader effort to explore how ITS could build and own its own artificial intelligence tools. The project reflects UofL’s commitment to removing barriers and making support services easier to access. 

IDD’s student-success portfolio includes four connected projects: the Student Portal, Louie the Textbot, Aristides Student Concierge and a separate Aristides platform for administrative and research units. The team’s work includes user experience design, interface prototypes, software development, AI assistant development, knowledge-base creation, system integration, testing and ongoing improvement. Led by Senior Director for IT Innovation Dr. Sara Northerner, IDD brings together four professional staff and undergraduate and graduate student designers and programmers. This approach gives students interdisciplinary work experience while producing technology for university needs. Since July 2024, the team has focused on developing locally managed AI engines and frameworks for UofL. The AI Culture webpage outlines the team’s guiding principles: human-centered design, validation, transparency, accountability, fairness, security and data privacy. 

UofL students and university partners have helped shape both the Student Portal and Aristides through demonstrations, feedback sessions, focus groups and pilot testing. During spring and fall 2026, undergraduate and graduate students, advisers and administrators who work directly with students tested the concierge tool. Participants used the chatbot in everyday situations, noted incomplete or incorrect responses and submitted detailed evaluations. Their feedback has guided ongoing improvements. For example, participants requested the option to use the Student Portal without using some features. The portal’s “Edit Layout” feature allows users to hide or minimize any widget, including Aristides, if opting out is desired. 

No Finish Line: Leading the Way on Other Tracks 

The IDD team is exploring how AI can improve student experiences while preserving the personal support that is essential to student success. Responsible AI keeps people and official university resources at the center of these tools. Aristides is intended to support, not replace, the expertise of advisers, instructors, financial aid professionals, student-support teams and other university employees. 

A future phase of the concierge tool will use relevant information from the Student Portal to provide more personalized responses. Aristides is also expected to expand the capabilities of Louie, UofL’s student textbot. Louie currently sends timely messages about enrollment, academic progress and campus support. A planned integration will allow students to move from receiving one-way reminders to having two-way text conversations supported by Aristides. 

The integrated platform will continue to evolve as new features are introduced, and more university resources are connected. As student needs change, Aristides will grow and improve with them, creating a more helpful and personalized support experience for the UofL community.