Apr 10, 2025
How a Gies Business chatbot is transforming learning and winning awards
What if students could learn about data strategy by interacting with a chatbot, just like they would with a mentor or industry expert?
That's exactly what Gies College of Business professor Douglas Laney, a world-renowned expert on the field of infonomics, set out to create. He built Cleo, an AI-powered learning tool that helps students learn about data strategy and business analytics in the real world. Now, that innovation is earning international recognition; Laney's project is a finalist for "Most Innovative Use of AI" at the DataIQ Awards Americas, selected from more than 400 entries. The DataIQ Awards honor both companies and individuals that have demonstrated excellence in the data and AI industry.
Gies College of Business is at the forefront of AI-driven innovation in business education, leveraging emerging technologies to give students a hands-on approach to data-driven decision making. Laney's chatbot is reported to be one of the first AI-driven interactive use cases in higher education, offering a new way for students to explore the complexities of the data economy.
The Birth of Cleo: An AI-Powered Business Simulation
Laney, adjunct clinical assistant professor of accountancy, began his journey into AI integration with an observation: students were already using generative AI tools to help with their work. Rather than resisting the trend, he saw an opportunity - using AI to create dynamic, hands-on learning experiences.
One of the biggest challenges in business education is providing students with real-world experience - something Laney knows well. He teaches (and wrote the book on) infonomics, the practice of monetizing, measuring, and managing data as a corporate asset. In his MBA course, students were tasked with interviewing industry professionals about data monetization and analytics. But they often hit a roadblock: companies can be reluctant to disclose sensitive or proprietary information.
“Students [told us] it was difficult to find someone at a company who would disclose that kind of information for them, especially at a public university," said Laney. "So I thought, why don’t I create a fictitious company and have students interact with a chatbot representing a communications director from that company?”
That idea became Cleo, an AI-driven interview simulator designed to bridge the gap between classroom learning and industry reality. Students could engage with Cleo like an interview with a communications director, allowing them to practice having critical conversations about data strategy, governance, and more in a controlled, yet lifelike, setting.
But Cleo is more than just another AI assistant. It was custom-built to simulate interactions with a corporate executive from Nile.com, a fictitious e-commerce company modeled after real-world business operations. Unlike generic AI tools, Cleo was trained on a dataset of fabricated documents including financial reports, customer demographics, supply chain strategies, and more.
“One assignment was to create a presentation for a relevant company executive making a business case for a new data product or service," said Laney. "In order to do this well, they had to understand what kinds of data products and services the company already uses and how others might benefit from them.”
Cleo does more than provide answers - it challenges students to think critically. Since each interaction generates unique responses, students must evaluate and analyze the AI's insights, mirroring the kind of critical thinking required in real-world business decisions.
A New Era of Business Education
Cleo is not just an innovative teaching tool; it’s a glimpse into the future of how students learn. By simulating conversations, it encourages deeper inquiry. Laney sees students leaning into the new tool, developing skills they might not gain from a traditional interview.
“The types of questions students are asking are a little bit more insightful, deeper," Laney said. "They’re probably questions that they wouldn’t ask someone at an actual company."
Beyond enhancing critical thinking, Cleo is even contributing to the classroom. By anchoring coursework around a single, simulated company, students can build their knowledge over time.
“Students benefit from continuity across assignments, and this now allows me to create a little bit more of that continuity," said Laney.
Beyond Cleo
As AI continues to reshape industries, Gies College of Business is leading the way, ensuring that business education evolves alongside technological advancements.
Cleo's success is just the beginning. Laney envisions a future where AI-driven learning doesn’t just simulate business challenges – it transforms how students interact with real-world data, companies, the decision making itself. Instead of passively reading about industry statistics, students could interact with an AI-driven simulation that brings data-driven business decisions to life, offering hands-on experience.
“We've created a fictitious case study here, but you could actually take a real case study and put a chatbot on top of it," Laney said. "So students could interact with that case study rather than just reading it.”
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