Kaplan Higher Education Academy wins at Singapore Business Review Technology Excellence Awards 2026

Its AI-powered telesales agent re-engages dormant leads to increase enrolment efficiency and revenue growth.

Kaplan Higher Education Academy won in the AI – Education category at the Singapore Business Review Technology Excellence Awards 2026. The institution received the accolade for its implementation of James Tan, an AI-powered telesales agent designed to revive and requalify dormant prospects within the education sales funnel.

Marketing efforts often generate thousands of leads, but only a small fraction are ready to convert during the first contact. These prospects are traditionally set aside by sales teams due to low immediate conversion potential, as manual qualification requires significant time and effort. Kaplan Higher Education Academy addressed this challenge by developing an automated solution that re-engages previously disqualified individuals at scale.

James Tan operates via phone and email to reconnect with prospects who once expressed interest but did not enrol. The AI agent shares relevant programme information and gauges the current intent of the lead. When a prospect shows renewed interest, the system routes the lead back to a human consultant with a full conversation history for personalised follow-up.

The results demonstrate strong re-engagement and requalification outcomes, with a high proportion of previously inactive prospects successfully reintroduced into the sales pipeline. This process contributed to significant incremental revenue and delivered an ROI of 50x by transforming previously lost opportunities into measurable business growth. Operating seven days a week from 9am to 8pm, the AI agent works 30% longer hours than human contact centre agents. This schedule aligns with the availability of working adult prospects who are often unreachable during standard office hours. By managing repetitive outreach tasks, the system allows human consultants to focus on building deeper relationships and converting qualified prospects.

Kaplan Higher Education Academy ensured the AI could handle natural conversations with a Singaporean accent whilst safeguarding data privacy. The project team built a robust knowledge base on Kaplan’s products, ensuring accuracy during interactions.

The Singapore Business Review Technology Excellence Awards is the most prestigious awards programme for technological innovations, recognising exceptional companies in Singapore that are riding the digital disruption wave and leading the technological revolution and digital journeys of their respective industries.

The Singapore Business Review Technology Excellence Awards is presented by Singapore Business Review Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2027 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's outstanding contributions in pursuit of technological innovation, please contact Danica Avila at +(65) 3158 1386 ext 217 or [email protected].