At this year’s Kwalloween, a free event for higher ed web leaders hosted by KWALL, Beth Yezzi, Chrissie Koeppen, and Alexia Koelling joined peers from KWALL, Pantheon, and Halda to explore how AI, personalization, and accessibility are reshaping digital experiences in higher education. 

In our session, “AI as Your Brand Amplifier: Personalization, Authenticity, and Search in the Age of AEO/GEO,” we shared a simple but powerful idea: 

It’s not just about who your audience is, it’s about what they’re trying to get done right now. 

By shifting from demographic-based personas to situational, needs-based understanding, higher ed marketers can meet audiences in the moments that matter most, whether that’s applying, donating, registering, or simply deciding if they belong. 

We showed how combining human insight with AI can help institutions listen better, respond faster, and make their most authentic stories easier to find in AI-driven search. 

Here are a few key takeaways from the session: 

• Start with “learning listening.” Ask people to describe a recent and real moment of struggle or success. It’s the fastest way to uncover what they really need. 

• Map needs, not demographics. Use Jobs-to-Be-Done thinking to understand what task someone is “hiring” your website, program, or content to do. 

• Let AI scale empathy. GPT-style tools can turn those insights into quick, testable messaging experiments so personalization becomes practical, not performative. 

• Make your content answer-ready. Optimize your most trusted content for AI Overviews and generative search (AEO/GEO), so your institution’s authentic voice rises to the top. 

• Keep ethics and governance front and center. Use AI to amplify, not replace, human creativity, empathy, and accountability. 

In a digital landscape where authenticity and discoverability go hand in hand, AI can be a brand amplifier—helping higher ed institutions show up with greater relevance, resonance, and humanity.