How to reduce online course support with AI answers

Some student questions cover something a lecture has already explained. The answer exists, but finding the moment in hours of video is work for the student, so they ask the instructor instead.

The useful change is not answering more messages. It is pointing students back to the explanation you already gave. Each VideoQ answer carries the time of its source moment, so students can return to that part of the lecture.

A general AI chat does not assume what you taught. A student using one may get terminology or an order of explanation that differs from your course.

VideoQ looks through the transcripts of the videos in your course for scenes related to the question, then answers from them. Students get an answer that follows your explanation, along with the cited moment they can use to check it.

Test one lecture first. It is easier to decide on adding the rest once you have seen the results.

1. Upload a lecture. MP4, MOV, WebM and other formats are supported, and transcription runs automatically. Use only videos you have the right to use.
2. Create a course and add the videos to cover. The AI refers to the videos in that course.
3. Ask the questions you expect from students, and check the answers and cited moments.
4. Create a share link or invite members, then tell your students.

With a share link, anyone holding the URL can watch the videos and ask questions without signing in. Students need no setup, but a link can be forwarded, so it is not limited to the people you sent it to. These questions are logged as coming through the link, without identifying who asked.

Invitations go to specific email addresses. A student joins by signing in to an account whose verified email matches. This suits a paid course where you want to limit who has access.

AI answers use the course owner’s allowance, and students pay nothing. The allowance is shared across your account rather than split by course or student. At the limit, new questions are refused. Estimate your student numbers and question volume, then check the plan limits.

AI answers and transcripts can contain mistakes. Tell students that answers come from AI and can be checked against the cited moment. The course owner can also read and export question and answer history as CSV, so let students know in advance that you can read their questions.