--- title: The Difference Isn't Just What We Build. It's How Research, Feedback, and Learning Shape Advisor AI description: Advisor AI is built with advisors, not just for them. Learn more about how each release is formed. image: https://joinadvisorai.com/hubfs/Research-Feedback-Learning_3.2.jpg --- [Skip to content](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/how-we-build-learn-launch-at-advisor-ai#main-content) [![Logo](https://joinadvisorai.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Home%20Page/Logo-Black%20(1).jpg?width=150&height=75&name=Logo-Black%20(1).jpg)](https://joinadvisorai.com/) - WHO WE SERVE Show submenu for WHO WE SERVE - [Campus Leadership](https://joinadvisorai.com/campus-leadership) - [Enrollment & Recruitment](https://joinadvisorai.com/enrollment-management) - [Advising & Student Success](https://joinadvisorai.com/academic-advising) - [Career Services & Workforce](https://joinadvisorai.com/career-services) - PLATFORM Show submenu for PLATFORM - [Key Capabilities](https://joinadvisorai.com/core-capabilities) - [Implementation](https://joinadvisorai.com/implementation) - [Integrations](https://joinadvisorai.com/integrations) - [Pricing Model](https://joinadvisorai.com/pricing-options) - [USE CASES](https://joinadvisorai.com/use-cases) Show submenu for USE CASES - [Traditional Learners](https://joinadvisorai.com/use-cases#use-cases) - [Dual Enrollment](https://joinadvisorai.com/use-cases#use-cases) - [Adult Learners](https://joinadvisorai.com/use-cases#use-cases) - [Undeclared Advising](https://joinadvisorai.com/use-cases#use-cases) - [Program Advising](https://joinadvisorai.com/use-cases#use-cases) - [Proactive Advising](https://joinadvisorai.com/use-cases#use-cases) - [Career Exploration](https://joinadvisorai.com/use-cases#use-cases) - [Internship Preparation](https://joinadvisorai.com/use-cases#use-cases) - [Workforce Readiness](https://joinadvisorai.com/use-cases#use-cases) - TRUST Show submenu for TRUST - [The Advisor AI Advantage](https://joinadvisorai.com/why-advisor-ai) - [Information Security](https://joinadvisorai.com/information-security) - [Responsible AI](https://joinadvisorai.com/responsible-ai) - [Trust Center](https://app.vanta.com/joinadvisorai.com/trust/77m8qtqgmb8veiyv1uptmn) - RESOURCES Show submenu for RESOURCES - [Case Studies & Resources](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/tag/resources) - [In the News](https://joinadvisorai.com/newsroom) - [Press Releases](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/tag/press-release) - [Appreciative Advising](https://joinadvisorai.com/appreciative-advising-and-advisor-ai-unite) - [NACE Partnership](https://joinadvisorai.com/nace-advisor-ai) - [ABOUT](https://joinadvisorai.com/about) Open main navigation Close main navigation - WHO WE SERVE Show submenu for WHO WE SERVE - [Campus Leadership](https://joinadvisorai.com/campus-leadership) - [Enrollment & Recruitment](https://joinadvisorai.com/enrollment-management) - [Advising & Student Success](https://joinadvisorai.com/academic-advising) - [Career Services & Workforce](https://joinadvisorai.com/career-services) - PLATFORM Show submenu for PLATFORM - [Key Capabilities](https://joinadvisorai.com/core-capabilities) - [Implementation](https://joinadvisorai.com/implementation) - [Integrations](https://joinadvisorai.com/integrations) - [Pricing Model](https://joinadvisorai.com/pricing-options) - [USE CASES](https://joinadvisorai.com/use-cases) Show submenu for USE CASES - [Traditional Learners](https://joinadvisorai.com/use-cases#use-cases) - [Dual Enrollment](https://joinadvisorai.com/use-cases#use-cases) - [Adult Learners](https://joinadvisorai.com/use-cases#use-cases) - [Undeclared Advising](https://joinadvisorai.com/use-cases#use-cases) - [Program Advising](https://joinadvisorai.com/use-cases#use-cases) - [Proactive Advising](https://joinadvisorai.com/use-cases#use-cases) - [Career Exploration](https://joinadvisorai.com/use-cases#use-cases) - [Internship Preparation](https://joinadvisorai.com/use-cases#use-cases) - [Workforce Readiness](https://joinadvisorai.com/use-cases#use-cases) - TRUST Show submenu for TRUST - [The Advisor AI Advantage](https://joinadvisorai.com/why-advisor-ai) - [Information Security](https://joinadvisorai.com/information-security) - [Responsible AI](https://joinadvisorai.com/responsible-ai) - [Trust Center](https://app.vanta.com/joinadvisorai.com/trust/77m8qtqgmb8veiyv1uptmn) - RESOURCES Show submenu for RESOURCES - [Case Studies & Resources](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/tag/resources) - [In the News](https://joinadvisorai.com/newsroom) - [Press Releases](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/tag/press-release) - [Appreciative Advising](https://joinadvisorai.com/appreciative-advising-and-advisor-ai-unite) - [NACE Partnership](https://joinadvisorai.com/nace-advisor-ai) - [ABOUT](https://joinadvisorai.com/about) - [Contact us](https://joinadvisorai.com/contact) [Contact us](https://joinadvisorai.com/contact) Nov 10, 2026 # The Difference Isn't Just What We Build. It's How Research, Feedback, and Learning Shape Advisor AI ![Picture of Aditya Gupta](https://joinadvisorai.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Aditya%20Gupta-1.jpeg?width=50&name=Aditya%20Gupta-1.jpeg) [Aditya Gupta](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/author/aditya-gupta) Share: [linkedin-in icon](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/how-we-build-learn-launch-at-advisor-ai) [envelope icon](mailto:?body=https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/how-we-build-learn-launch-at-advisor-ai) [Share this page on Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/how-we-build-learn-launch-at-advisor-ai) Generic technology has made higher education wary, and for good reason. Systems built without understanding how institutions operate often create more work for the people they're supposed to help. A new feature arrives in the middle of a registration rush. A student receives guidance that doesn't reflect their institution's actual resources. An update breaks a workflow advisors depend on. Each of these costs advisors time and erodes student trust. As an engineer at Advisor AI, I've learned that good technology starts long before anyone writes code. It starts with understanding the people and institutions it is meant to serve. That's a principle shared across our entire team. [Advisor AI](https://joinadvisorai.com/about) brings together more than 100 years of combined higher education leadership and advising experience, alongside AI and data experts with experience delivering more than 100 enterprise AI initiatives globally. That experience shapes how we approach responsible technology use and innovation. We don't begin with a feature request or an engineering roadmap. We begin with conversations, research, and a deeper understanding of the challenges advisors and students face. Advisor input and research into institutional needs inform every feature before development begins. From there, each feature moves through practitioner feedback, engineering review, and quality testing before it reaches students and advisors. We describe this approach in three principles: **Research First. People Always. Trust at Every Layer.** In this article, I'll share how those principles translate into everyday engineering decisions, from the way we develop features to how we test, review, and release them. --- ## By the Numbers The first version of our platform entered development in March 2023. By September 2023, it was in the hands of practicing advisors as part of an early pilot experiment. And by March 2024, it was in the hands of our first large cohort of hundreds of students and advisors. Since that launch, we've delivered 10 quarterly releases, each shaped by continued research, practitioner feedback, and engineering improvements. I've been part of that process firsthand. What follows is an inside look at what we've shipped and how an idea moves from a conversation with an advisor to something students and advisors actually use. - **Over 100,000 engineering hours** invested to date to refine student and staff platform experiences - **43 named capabilities** shipped across 10 quarterly releases, with extensive field research and testing - **2,251 updates to the core product**, organized into 284 reviewed batches — approximately one every three days **![commits-over-time](https://joinadvisorai.com/hs-fs/hubfs/commits-over-time.png?width=960&height=364&name=commits-over-time.png)***Updates to the core product by month, March 2024 to September 2026* --- ## **How a Feature Actually Gets Made** We develop Advisor AI alongside academic and career advising practitioners, and have incorporated feedback from thousands of advisors and students over the years. Before a feature reaches engineering, we spend time understanding the problem it is meant to solve. Where are students struggling to find the right next step? Which tasks take advisors away from meaningful student conversations? What information would help an advisor make a better decision? Those questions go through multiple rounds of research, discussion, and refinement. By the time I sit down to implement something, the problem and the proposed solution have already been challenged by the people closest to the work. > "One of my favorite things I do at Advisor AI is our meetings about the product and its feature updates. Often, as we are discussing a feature, I've said, 'What would really be cool/useful for an advisor is …' and later that feedback becomes a new part of the platform. It's incredible how much advisor feedback is incorporated into the Advisor AI platform. I've never seen anything like it." — [**Alan Beaudrie**](https://joinadvisorai.com/about), advising specialist for over 20 years and Advisor AI team member One example shows how a small piece of feedback can make a meaningful difference. Initially, advisors could see the questions students asked the chatbot, but not the answers they received. Alan recognized that this left an important gap in the advising process. > "I strongly advocated for having the answer there too because, as an advisor, those answers would be a very important piece of information to have when a student says, for example, a decision they made was based on information they received from the chatbot." — **Alan Beaudrie** That feedback helped advisors understand the context behind student decisions and have more informed conversations. It’s the kind of practical improvement we look for: a better way for advisors to support students. Practitioners stay involved after the initial research, too. They’re often among the first to use a feature in our test environment, where they identify gaps, challenge assumptions, and recommend refinements. Our engineering team then implements those changes, with teammates reviewing and approving updates before release. > "The strength of our development and review process at Advisor AI is that we have practitioners of enrollment and advising reviewing each step of the development process.… I've worked on many software platforms designed for higher education, and more often than not, it's clear the platform was engineered without the feedback from practitioners, leaving the platform inefficient and unusable." — [**Michael Griffin**](https://joinadvisorai.com/about), former vice president of enrollment management with over 30 years in higher education and Advisor AI team member The goal is straightforward: build technology that fits the realities of advising, so advisors and institutions don’t have to adapt their work around it. --- ## **What We Hold Ourselves To** Research and practitioner feedback help us decide what to build. But how we build, test, secure, and maintain the platform matters just as much. These are the standards we apply throughout development and enhancements: #### **1. Data Integrity and Enterprise Trust** Every proposed update goes through automated quality and security checks, followed by human review and approval. We also continuously maintain the software dependencies our platform relies on. New versions are proposed weekly in the core application and daily across our hosting infrastructure, and they go through the same review process before being introduced. Vanta, our compliance automation platform, continuously monitors our codebase and cloud systems against applicable security and compliance requirements. This helps us identify and address potential issues as they arise rather than relying solely on periodic reviews. Our latest release (Q3 2026) reflects this commitment. Staff access to student records now follows stricter controls, and we've updated our Higher Education Community Vendor Assessment Toolkit (HECVAT) responses to help institutional procurement and information-security teams evaluate our practices against an established framework. Each institution operates in its own dedicated environment, with a separate database, sign-in configuration, and approved assistant resources. Role-based permissions determine what users can access, while institutions retain control over their own access and system settings. #### **2. Responsible AI Safeguards** AI needs to be useful, and it needs to be grounded in information institutions trust. The assistant generates responses from institution-approved resources and provides citations so students and advisors can understand where information comes from. Institutional student data is never used to train shared AI models. When we train or update an institution's knowledge base, our quality and engineering teams manually evaluate the assistant using both predefined and custom questions. We review the responses and their underlying sources directly rather than relying on the AI to evaluate itself. Institutions also have access to these review capabilities within the platform, giving their teams a way to evaluate answer quality against their own resources and expectations. We keep evaluating answer quality as resources, student questions, and institutional needs change, and people stay involved in reviewing the information students receive and the systems that deliver it. #### 3. Comprehensive Quality Assurance Our team has completed more than 38,000 quality checks over the last year, including more than 32,000 manual feature checks and over 6,500 Responsible AI checks across partner institutions. Before a feature reaches production, engineers evaluate it in development, followed by broader testing and review in a shared environment. New features are tested over several weeks before reaching live student and advisor data. Development, testing, and production environments remain isolated to protect institutional data and system reliability. Testing also goes beyond whether a feature works as intended. We evaluate how it behaves across different institutional configurations, user permissions, workflows, and AI-generated responses, so we can catch problems before they affect the people relying on the platform. --- ### **The Timeline** Since our first full platform launch in March 2024, we've continued to introduce capabilities and refine the platform based on research, institutional feedback, and evolving advising needs. Here's a look at how the platform has evolved: | **Release** | **Date** | **Key Features** | | --- | --- | --- | | [Q2 2024](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/q2-2024-feature-announcements?hs_preview=NuvWYrvS-397271006959) | Jun 28 | Student dashboard, Pathway Explorer, AI assistant, role-based access controls | | [Q3 2024](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/q3-2024-feature-announcements?hs_preview=BLxjVYcQ-397271040722) | Sep 27 | Progress Tracker, advisor caseload management tools, assistant answer citations | | [Q4 2024](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/q4-2024-feature-announcements?hs_preview=apLAeryz-397271008984) | Dec 13 | Student profile view, AI-generated engagement summaries, analytics dashboard | | [Q1 2025](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/q1-2025-feature-announcements?hs_preview=ebtpqOie-398889894601) | Mar 28 | Responsible AI testing dashboard, cohort management, live student activity feed | | [Q2 2025](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/q2-2025-feature-announcements?hs_preview=mLztteHJ-398889895631) | Jun 30 | Advisor email outreach, cohort management enhancements, login simplification | | [Q3 2025](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/q3-2025-feature-announcements?hs_preview=optMfGxc-398889895657) | Sep 15 | Embeddable assistant for external sites, response feedback and ratings | | [Q4 2025](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/q4-2025-feature-announcements?hs_preview=SHQHZHVj-398920450803) | Dec 15 | In-product Help Center, enrollment analytics, configurable caseload views | | [Q1 2026](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/q1-2026-feature-announcements?hs_preview=DPBpoGYF-398889896649) | Mar 16 | Plan export to Word, full platform migration to a modern foundation | | [Q2 2026](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/q2-2026-feature-announcements?hs_preview=tKKbeZVe-398890044136) | Jun 15 | Visible assessment progress, role-based starter questions, test-send for email | | [Q3 2026](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/q3-2026-feature-announcements?hs_preview=uowBBgED-398890044152) | Sep 14 | Session security, reliability improvements, compliance and vulnerability management | The timeline shows what we've shipped. But behind every release is a continuous cycle of understanding institutional needs, incorporating practitioner feedback, testing improvements, and refining the experience. We don't consider a feature finished simply because it has shipped. Its real value comes from how well it supports the people using it. --- ### What's Next The next phase continues in the same direction: helping institutions move from fragmented, reactive support toward connected, proactive student success.  And our upcoming priorities include enhanced communication workflows, a dedicated knowledge base for advisors, and expanded institutional intelligence and reporting. Each release builds on the same principle that has guided our work from the beginning: technology should make it easier for advisors to do what they do best, help students make informed decisions, and give institutions a clearer understanding of how to support their communities. That’s how we approach every release, every feature, and every institutional partnership. **Research First. People Always. Trust at Every Layer.** [Methodology](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/tag/methodology), [Research](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/tag/research), [Resources](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/tag/resources), [Platform Release](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/tag/platform-release), [Information Technology](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/tag/information-technology) ## Related posts [![ASU](https://joinadvisorai.com/hs-fs/hubfs/ASU-2.jpg?height=200&name=ASU-2.jpg)](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/event-asugsv-24) [Press Release](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/tag/press-release), [Research](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/tag/research) ## [Advisor AI Invited to Participate in ASU+GSV Summit, Engages Global Student Success Leaders](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/event-asugsv-24) ![Picture of Advisor.AI](https://joinadvisorai.com/hs-fs/hubfs/advisor_ai_logo.jpg?width=50&name=advisor_ai_logo.jpg) [Advisor.AI](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/author/advisor-ai) Apr 19, 2024 San Diego, Calif. — Advisor AI was invited to the ASU+GSV Summit, the world’s largest education... [Read more](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/event-asugsv-24) [![](https://joinadvisorai.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Rev%205%20-%20LinkedIn%20Post%20%20(1)-2.jpg?height=200&name=Rev%205%20-%20LinkedIn%20Post%20%20(1)-2.jpg)](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/advisor.ai-and-florida-atlantic-universitys-office-of-appreciative-education-press-release) [Press Release](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/tag/press-release) ## [Advisor AI and Florida Atlantic University’s Office of Appreciative Education Unite to Empower 100,000 Advisors by 2029](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/advisor.ai-and-florida-atlantic-universitys-office-of-appreciative-education-press-release) ![Picture of Advisor.AI](https://joinadvisorai.com/hs-fs/hubfs/advisor_ai_logo.jpg?width=50&name=advisor_ai_logo.jpg) [Advisor.AI](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/author/advisor-ai) Aug 19, 2025 Empowering Advisors. Transforming Student Success. [Read more](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/advisor.ai-and-florida-atlantic-universitys-office-of-appreciative-education-press-release) [![Teams collaborating](https://joinadvisorai.com/hs-fs/hubfs/laptop-training-group-business-people-brainstorming-ideas-coaching-tablet-team-diversity-happy-workers-discussion-blog-article-story-with-creative-copywriter-startup.jpg?height=200&name=laptop-training-group-business-people-brainstorming-ideas-coaching-tablet-team-diversity-happy-workers-discussion-blog-article-story-with-creative-copywriter-startup.jpg)](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/advisor-ai-appreciative-advising-a-new-era-of-student-success) [Methodology](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/tag/methodology), [Research](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/tag/research), [Resources](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/tag/resources), [Campus Leadership](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/tag/campus-leadership) ## [Advisor AI + Appreciative Advising: A New Era of Student Experience & Team Success](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/advisor-ai-appreciative-advising-a-new-era-of-student-success) ![Picture of Advisor.AI](https://joinadvisorai.com/hs-fs/hubfs/advisor_ai_logo.jpg?width=50&name=advisor_ai_logo.jpg) [Advisor.AI](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/author/advisor-ai) Sep 2, 2025 In collaboration with Florida Atlantic University’s Office of Appreciative Education [Read more](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/advisor-ai-appreciative-advising-a-new-era-of-student-success) [![Logo-White-200x50](https://joinadvisorai.com/hubfs/Home%20Page/Logo-White-200x50.png)](https://joinadvisorai.com) Advisor.AI, Inc. 345 California St., Suite 600 San Francisco, CA 94104 ### Who We Serve - [Campus Leadership](https://joinadvisorai.com/campus-leadership?hsLang=en) - [Enrollment & Recruitment](https://joinadvisorai.com/enrollment-management?hsLang=en) - [Advising & Student Success](https://joinadvisorai.com/academic-advising?hsLang=en) - [Career Services & Workforce](https://joinadvisorai.com/career-services?hsLang=en) ### Platform - [Key Capabilities](https://joinadvisorai.com/core-capabilities?hsLang=en) - [Implementation](https://joinadvisorai.com/implementation?hsLang=en) - [Integrations](https://joinadvisorai.com/integrations?hsLang=en) - [Pricing Model](https://joinadvisorai.com/pricing-options?hsLang=en) ### Trust - [The Advisor AI Advantage](https://joinadvisorai.com/why-advisor-ai?hsLang=en) - [Information Security](https://joinadvisorai.com/information-security?hsLang=en) - [Responsible AI](https://joinadvisorai.com/responsible-ai?hsLang=en) - [Trust Center](https://app.vanta.com/joinadvisorai.com/trust/77m8qtqgmb8veiyv1uptmn) ### Resources - [Explore Use Cases](https://joinadvisorai.com/use-cases?hsLang=en) - [Case Studies & Resources](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/tag/resources?hsLang=en) - [In the News](https://joinadvisorai.com/newsroom?hsLang=en) - [Press Releases](https://joinadvisorai.com/blog/tag/press-release?hsLang=en) © 2023–2026 Advisor.AI, Inc. 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