Optimising course content for generative AI
Flo Vincent
Content Designer, The University of Edinburgh
Prospective students are increasingly using generative AI tools as a starting point for researching degree options. If key information on your site is difficult for machines to interpret, those tools may misunderstand or ignore it entirely — leaving applicants with incomplete or incorrect guidance.
In this session, you’ll hear how the University of Edinburgh investigated applicant use of generative AI and discovered that critical entry requirements were effectively invisible because they were hidden behind dropdown interfaces. You’ll learn how the team introduced machine-readable course pages covering all variations of entry requirements and how those changes significantly improved the accuracy of AI-generated results.
The session will also share insights from ongoing applicant research, GA4 data on user behaviour, and systematic testing of tools such as ChatGPT to understand how institutional content is interpreted. You’ll gain practical guidance on how to audit your own course content and prioritise improvements that support both human users and AI-driven discovery.
Key takeaways
Understand how generative AI tools interpret course and admissions content
Learn practical techniques for making critical information machine-readable
Discover how to test and evaluate your institution’s visibility in AI results
About Flo
Flo Vincent (she/her) is a Content Designer at the University of Edinburgh, working in the Prospective Student Web Team. She joined the University with a varied background as a freelance copywriter, film critic, creative writing teacher and screenwriter, and has contributed to a range of projects focused on improving the student user experience, reducing enquiries and streamlining staff workload. She recently completed work on a multi-year project to design the University’s new course finder.
Outside of work, Flo enjoys reading (and occasionally writing) ghost stories, eating chips at the seaside, and birdwatching with her toddler.