Pulse Check: First Movers Part 1

About The Episode:

In the premiere episode of First Movers, a new Pulse Check series from Enrollify in partnership with Everspring, hosts Rhea Vitalis and Andrea Gilbert sit down with Dave Hunt, Director of Enrollment Marketing at the University of Kansas. The conversation dives into how Hunt and his team are adapting to a dramatically shifting enrollment landscape—one shaped by zero-click searches, stealth applicants, and the rise of generative AI. Learn how KU’s enrollment team is crafting a differentiated value proposition and redefining how marketing assets are built and deployed across an increasingly fragmented digital ecosystem.

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Key Takeaways

• AI in Higher Education Marketing is no longer optional—tools like ChatGPT are changing how students search, discover, and decide on programs.
• The traditional enrollment funnel is collapsing, requiring enrollment teams to create scalable, cross-channel content that supports non-linear journeys.
• Zero-click searches and AI summaries are replacing traditional web traffic—institutions must adapt their SEO strategies to remain discoverable and authoritative.
• Building a technically optimized, question-led website improves AI citation rates and overall search visibility.
• Small teams can scale content and campaign execution efficiently using AI—not to replace human storytelling, but to extend it.
• Emerging formats like competency-based education and shifting behaviors around campus visits show that flexibility and experimentation are the new currency in enrollment marketing.

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Episode Summary

How has differentiation changed in an AI-first world?
Dave Hunt begins the episode with a big-picture challenge: In a world where large language models are now the front lines of information discovery, how can universities maintain a differentiated value proposition? He reflects on the evolution from traditional SEO to a new paradigm where AI tools synthesize and deliver answers—without requiring a click. While the goal of engaging prospects hasn’t changed, the methods must. Hunt highlights that today’s enrollment marketers must build content that not only ranks, but also “teaches” AI models what their institution stands for.

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What role does AI actually play in content strategy and scaling?
AI isn't a silver bullet—but it is a multiplier. Hunt and Vitalis emphasize the importance of using AI as an efficiency tool. From helping brainstorm email sequences to adapting long-form YouTube content for Instagram or blogs, AI can compress days of work into hours. However, Hunt warns against fully outsourcing creativity to machines. Instead, marketers should start with human-driven storytelling and use AI to adapt and scale it across platforms.

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How can institutions optimize their websites for AI-driven discovery?
Andrea Gilbert shares a behind-the-scenes look at Everspring’s redesign of the University of Kansas Online MBA website. By focusing on clear, in-depth answers to student questions and restructuring the content to be machine-readable, the site saw a 42% lift in AI-driven traffic and appeared in AI overviews three times more than other university pages. Gilbert explains how performance improves when content is not only SEO-optimized but built for conversational AI. The result? Higher engagement and discoverability across both traditional and emerging search formats.

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What’s the impact of AI on the student journey?
As Rhea points out, the rise of “stealth applicants” and off-channel research—where students explore programs via ChatGPT or AI summaries—makes attribution nearly impossible. Dave notes that students are arriving more informed and later in the decision process. He cites shifting behaviors like post-admit campus visits or orientation-as-evaluation as signals of a collapsed funnel. To adapt, enrollment teams need agile, data-informed approaches that allow for rapid response and real-time optimization.

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How should marketing leaders respond to all this change?
The consensus? It’s time to rethink everything. Dave encourages institutions to take bold action—rethinking legacy strategies and leaning into change, just as leaders at Arizona State or SNHU once did. He urges marketing teams to be brave, but also strategic: test theories, socialize new ideas across departments, and build buy-in through clear communication. For Gilbert, the future hinges on relevance over volume. She advocates for digital experiences that feel deeply human, even when mediated by AI systems.

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What's next for enrollment marketing and education delivery?
Looking ahead, Hunt is particularly interested in the rise of competency-based education—not just for its modality shift, but for what it signals about student expectations for personalization and flexibility. Gilbert sees the next major trend as hyper-personalization driven by AI, transforming how institutions engage with students across channels. Both agree that the name of the game is adaptability—and that tomorrow’s winning strategies will be built by those who question the status quo today.

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Enrollify is produced by Element451 — the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.