AI-powered chatbots for enhancing accessibility in higher education-design and implementationHorvat, Sven (Avtor) Horvat, Tomislav (Avtor) Havaš, Ladislav (Avtor) Crčić, Dražen (Avtor) Artificial Intelligence (AI)ChatboteducationNatural Language Processing (NLP)VoiceflowThe paper explores the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in improving communication and accessibility in educational settings through the development of an AI-powered chatbot. The chatbot addresses students common challenges, such as delays and inefficiencies in administrative processes, by providing an instant and reliable access to the college-related information. The presented chatbot developed using a Voiceflow platform leverages the predefined responses and dynamic AI-generated answers to balance the cost-effectiveness and functionality. Paper reviews the related research, it highlights various methodologies and platforms used for the chatbot development and justifies the selection of the Voiceflow for its user-friendly interface and robust integration capabilities. The chatbot functionality includes answering frequently asked questions guiding administrative tasks and supporting diverse user needs, including visually impaired students. By integrating the third-party databases and utilizing the GPT-3.5 Turbo for complex queries, the chatbot demonstrates scalability and adaptability. The testing reveals its potential to significantly reduce administrative workloads while enhancing the user experience and underscores its transformative AI potential in education. Our future work will be towards expanding the language support, emotion recognition, and knowledge base refinement to further optimize the chatbot efficiency and effectiveness in serving students and staff.20252026-06-09 13:08:31Članek v reviji183247sl