Can AI Be Safely Used in Visa and Immigration Services? UK Endorsing Body Innovator International Shows How
Many visa and immigration service providers hesitate to adopt AI, fearing it might provide incorrect advice or make critical mistakes with applicants' futures at stake. Innovator International, an authorised endorsing body for the Innovator Founder Visa in the UK, faced the same concerns but discovered that an AI chatbot, when properly implemented could safely handle routine inquiries while ensuring complex cases receive proper human attention. Their implementation of KorticalChat's AI chatbot now successfully manages 80% of customer inquiries with 100% positive or neutral feedback, freeing their specialists to focus on cases that truly require human expertise.
Innovator International helps international entrepreneurs navigate the complicated process of relocating to the UK through the Innovator Founder visa route. Their statistics show the AI chatbot has managed over 2,500 unique user conversations and processed more than 15,000 messages. The most common inquiries relate to visa requirements, application processes, business plans, and documentation.
Watch as Richard Harrison, Director of Innovator International, explains how implementing KorticalChat AI chatbot has reduced response times from days to seconds, provided 24/7 multilingual support, and allowed their team to focus on processing actual applications rather than repeatedly answering basic questions.
The Challenge: Filtering Email Inquiries for High Quality Leads
Visa and immigration services handle high volumes of inquiries, but not all are from serious applicants. Innovator International receives around 100 applications per month and 20 to 30 emails per day. Many inquiries are repetitive or lack key details, making it hard to prioritise genuine prospects.
"When an entrepreneur wants to come to the UK, there are quite strict rules for this visa route, and the guidelines are often written in large documents. There's a lot of information, and it is very difficult to process..We wanted something that mimicked a person and gave realistic answers as quickly as possible without the need to wait hours or even days for an email." Richard Harrison, Director of Innovator International
The volume of inquiries made it challenging for the team to provide timely responses to every entrepreneur. Delays in communication could lead to frustration and anxiety among prospective clients, who were often working under tight deadlines to submit their applications.
The volume of emails also meant staff were spending significant time answering the same questions repeatedly rather than focusing on complex cases requiring human expertise. Innovator International needed a way to streamline inquiries without compromising accuracy or compliance.
The Solution: AI Chatbot to Automate Triage and Customer Support
Innovator International implemented KorticalChat, a ChatGPT-like AI chatbot capable of providing immediate, accurate responses. The chatbot was trained using Innovator International’s existing documentation, visa guidelines, and FAQs to ensure it delivered relevant and compliant information.
"In all honesty, when you first contacted me, you sent me a demo, and it's very hard to get my attention. This got my attention immediately. I was straight on the phone to my business partner and our IT team saying, We need this! We absolutely need this in our lives!" said Harrison.
The chatbot was integrated directly into their website, enabling applicants to ask questions and receive instant responses. In cases where the chatbot could not provide an answer, the query was escalated to a human representative, ensuring applicants always received the correct support.
Summary of topics the AI Chatbot was able to automate
Analysing the chat history, below are the top topics the AI chatbot was able to effectively answer.
Implementation: From Concept to Live on Website in 6 Weeks
Innovator International did not have the internal capabilities nor confidence to build the AI chatbot from scratch, but KorticalChat took care of the entire process, ensuring it functioned exactly as needed.
"The setup process was really easy and straightforward. We had a couple of calls explaining exactly what we wanted, and it was easy for your team to turn that into a system for us," said Harrison. "We’ve had ongoing support to tweak and improve it. If we want help, we ask, and we get it very quickly and efficiently."
Implementation Process
The implementation process was simple and required minimal technical expertise:
- Initial Consultation – A call to define the chatbot’s purpose, role, limitations, and security requirements as an endorsing body, including how it should respond or escalate inquiries to ensure compliance with industry regulations.
- Security and Compliance Requirements – KorticalChat's ISO27001 accreditation ensured all data remained encrypted both at rest and in transit. Integration with Microsoft's single sign-on restricted access to authorised employees only, meeting enterprise security and privacy requirements available.
- Knowledge Base Creation – The chatbot's responses were built on a carefully curated selection of trusted sources, including Innovator International’s website, internal documentation, PDFs, and vetted external resources. This ensured precise and relevant answers, refining the chatbot’s 'brain' to align with business needs.
- Customisation – The chatbot’s styling was adjusted to match Innovator International’s brand, ensuring a seamless user experience.
- Testing and Refinement – Responses were rigorously checked for accuracy, ensuring they adhered to limitations and provided correct information before deployment.
- Deployment – Implementation was easy; a simple embed code was added to the website, making it compatible with platforms like WordPress, Wix, and Webflow.
By taking care of the entire process, KorticalChat ensured Innovator International’s chatbot was accurate, reliable, and fully functional in just six weeks, without requiring deep technical knowledge from their team.
The Results: Faster Responses, Increased Applications, and Smarter Operations
The impact of the AI chatbot was immediate and measurable:
- 80% of inquiries are now automated, reducing staff workload.
- Response times dropped from hours or days to seconds.
- The number of applications increased, showing improved client engagement.
- 100% of chatbot interactions received positive or neutral feedback.
- Triage efficiency improved, ensuring only complex cases required human attention.
"Whereas we were receiving a high number of emails every day, the quantity of emails has gone down, but our client engagement and number of applications have increased," said Harrison. "One of the biggest metrics for me is staff time spent answering emails. We don’t have to go through as many emails, but we can see from the chatbot's metrics that we are actually getting more inquiries, not less. We’re just answering fewer of them personally."
Ongoing Support and Maintenance
The AI chatbot has also helped Innovator International continuously refine its processes. By analysing chatbot conversations, the team identifies gaps in information and updates its knowledge base accordingly. Additionally, when a chatbot conversation requires human intervention, the AI generates a summary, helping staff respond more efficiently.
"If the chatbot can't answer a question, we get an email with the conversation. It even generates an AI-driven script summarising what was said. We can then add that question and answer back into the chatbot’s library, so the next person who asks gets an immediate response. In terms of time-saving, it’s absolutely phenomenal. It's a game-changer."
Addressing AI Skepticism: Accuracy and Human Oversight
One of the primary concerns about AI in visa services is the risk of incorrect or misleading information. Innovator International overcame this by ensuring:
- The chatbot is trained exclusively on approved, official visa documentation.
- AI responses are continuously reviewed and refined.
- Complex or sensitive inquiries are escalated to human experts.
"AI is something I’m extremely interested in, but I was also a little scared of it initially because the future is so uncertain and moving so quickly," said Harrison. "But for us, AI is not replacing humans, it’s replicating our ability to provide accurate, real-time answers at scale."
The Future of AI in Visa Services: A Digital Workforce
Innovator International sees AI as an essential tool for the future of visa and immigration services. The chatbot has enabled them to provide instant, multilingual support while ensuring applicants receive accurate, up-to-date information.
"This is the closest thing to what people have always called digital twins," said Harrison. "I can have as many versions of myself answering questions as needed. The same applies to our entire team. The benefit is almost immeasurable."
Conclusion: AI as a Competitive Advantage in Visa Services
Innovator International's experience demonstrates that AI chatbots, when implemented correctly, can revolutionise visa and immigration services by automating triage, reducing workload, and enhancing customer experience.
"KorticalChat saves us a considerable amount of time and even provides an additional income stream. It’s an absolute no-brainer! You have to try it to see how good AI chat can be in the context of your own business."
Ready to Automate 80% of Your Visa and Immigration Inquiries?
Thinking about AI for your visa service business? Book a free consultation to learn how KorticalChat can help your organisation achieve 80% automation while maintaining quality and compliance. Our AI specialists will assess your specific needs and show you exactly how our AI solution can work for your business.
Explore Other KorticalChat AI Chatbot Success Stories:
- Reed - How a recruitment agency achieved 600% ROI by automating job posting creation
- The Edit LDN - How a luxury e-commerce retailer automated 80% of customer support queries
This case study demonstrates how AI chatbot implementation in visa and immigration services can deliver 80% automation while improving response times and maintaining 100% positive client feedback, freeing specialists to focus on qualified applicants who need expert guidance.
