The Technology AI Assistant – featuring an intelligent conversational interface and an email-to-ticket agent, with additional agents planned – will be available in IT Asset Manager ahead of the 2026-27 school year, helping K-12 IT teams respond to issues faster, manage requests more efficiently, and proactively address technology challenges.

MCHENRY, Ill., March 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Follett Software, a leading provider of trusted K-12 operations solutions serving 10,900 districts and 49 million students worldwide, today announced that Follett Software AI is coming to IT Asset Manager, the company’s purpose-built platform for K-12 technology operations. The AI Assistant for IT Asset Manager will be available to districts this spring, so administrators can configure it over the summer and begin the new year with a smarter system in place. Designed as an expanding AI capability, the Technology AI Assistant will launch with an intelligent conversational interface and an email-to-ticket agent, with additional agents planned over time.

The announcement marks a significant step in Follett Software’s broader AI expansion, following the rapid adoption of Follett Software AI within the Library Suite, where more than 810 districts and 8,000 school sites are already using embedded AI to surface insights and automate workflows. Building on that momentum, Follett Software is now extending its AI capabilities into the Technology Suite for the IT Directors, Technology Coordinators, and Technicians who manage thousands of devices and hundreds of daily support requests across K-12 districts.

“There’s an important difference between a product that has AI features and a product that is intelligent,” says Chris Porter, Chief Executive Officer of Follett Software. “What we’re building isn’t a couple of clever filters. We’re building a fundamentally smarter platform, one that understands K-12 operations, knows your data, respects your policies, and is designed for real school staff doing the work day in and day out. It goes from being a system that records what happened to a system that tells you what may be about to happen.”

From Reactive to Proactive: AI Built for K-12 IT Operations

K-12 IT teams are among the most resource-constrained professionals in education. Most districts rely on small teams, often one or two people, to manage thousands of devices, respond to a constant stream of support requests, and maintain compliance and accountability for publicly funded technology assets. CoSN’s 2024 State of EdTech Leadership Survey found that IT teams spend up to 10 hours per week on manual tracking and inventory reconciliation alone, time that could be redirected to security, instructional technology, and strategic planning.

Follett Software’s Technology AI Assistant is designed to reclaim that time by embedding intelligence directly into the daily workflows IT teams already use – without requiring new tools, technical expertise, or complex configuration.

“Most AI tools you hear about in education are designed for teachers and students,” said Porter. “We build tools for the people who keep schools running. The IT teams, the operations staff, the people managing thousands of devices, and a never-ending stream of support requests. Our AI is designed specifically for that world.”

Two AI Capabilities Coming Before the Next School Year

Technology AI Assistant – Conversational Access to District Data

The intelligent conversational experience gives IT leaders and staff the ability to do far more than pull data; rather, it transforms how districts understand and act on their technology operations. The assistant goes beyond retrieval by surfacing proactive insights, flagging emerging issues, delivering actionable recommendations, and triggering automations, all without building reports, exporting spreadsheets, or writing a single database query.

District IT staff can ask the assistant real-world questions such as:

“Show me all Chromebooks past their 4-year refresh cycle that are still assigned to students.”
“Which device models have the highest repair rate this school year, and what’s the total cost of ownership per unit?“
“Initiate a lock on all devices marked Lost through our MDM”

The assistant answers using the actual data already living in the district’s IT Asset Manager environment, not generic AI output or information from outside the district. Answers are grounded in a specific district’s devices, assignments, tickets, and usage patterns, making them immediately actionable.

Districts will also be able to upload their own policy documents, enabling the assistant to answer questions about local procedures. A new technician asking, “What is the process for handling a lost Chromebook?” will receive a district-specific answer, reducing onboarding time and supporting consistent policy application across the team.

AI Email-to-Ticket Agent – Automated Triage, Every Time

A significant percentage of K-12 IT support requests arrive by email, such as a teacher with a broken screen or a principal who cannot connect to a projector. For IT teams, this typically means a technician must read each email, determine the issue type, manually categorize it, look up the device, look up the person, assign the ticket, and only then start solving the actual problem. Multiplied across dozens or hundreds of emails per day, the triage process alone consumes hours.

The AI Email-to-Ticket Agent changes that workflow. When a support email arrives, the agent automatically:

Identifies the type of issue, such as broken hardware, login problem, or software issue
Generates a short, scannable summary so technicians can triage at a glance
Pulls device and user information from the email and cross-references it with the district’s asset database
Attaches the correct device record to the ticket
Routes the ticket to the appropriate technician or team based on the district’s automated assignment settings

If the email is missing key information, the agent can send a follow-up to the requester automatically, gathering the detail needed to resolve the issue faster.

Technicians remain in control at every step. The AI surfaces clearly labeled suggestions that can be reviewed, edited, or overridden at any time. The goal is not to replace human judgment. The goal is to eliminate the manual busywork that stands between the email and the solution.

A Three-Level Intelligence Framework

Follett Software is building Follett Software AI for IT Asset Manager around a three-level model of intelligence designed to grow with districts over time:

Level 1 – Insights & Recommendations: AI goes beyond answering questions to proactively surfacing what matters most: flagging emerging issues, recommending next steps, and delivering district-specific intelligence that helps IT leaders make smarter, faster decisions without digging through reports or spreadsheets.

Level 2 – Automation: AI handles routine tasks independently. Emails become categorized, summarized, and routed tickets. Repetitive triage work is handled automatically, freeing technicians to focus on resolution.

Level 3 – Anticipation: The system notices patterns in device data – flags that a batch of Chromebooks is likely to start failing next month, spots trends in tickets indicating that a particular building is generating an unusual volume of network issues – and surfaces those signals before they become crises. This transforms a system that records what happened into a system that tells you what may be about to happen.

“The vision is not just a smarter tool, but a genuine operational partner that helps districts get ahead of problems instead of always chasing them,” said Shane Foster, Chief Product & Technology Officer at Follett Software. “By embedding intelligence directly into the systems districts already trust, we’re creating a new standard for how AI delivers real, responsible value in K-12 operations – and IT Asset Manager is the next major step in that journey.”

Policy-Aware, and Built for K-12 Trust

Follett Software AI is built with guardrails that respect district policies, student data protections, and regulatory requirements – including FERPA and COPPA. Every AI feature is designed to be simple and intuitive from day one, with no coding, no complicated setup, and no need for technical expertise to use. Districts access AI insights through the tools and workflows they already rely on daily.

“We’re not interested in slapping AI labels onto things just to say we have AI,” says Foster. “What we’re doing is something much more intentional. We’re building intelligence directly into the tools schools already use every day – so that their systems don’t just store information; they actually help people do their jobs better. Follett Software AI for IT Asset Manager is intelligence that is relevant and useful to each district’s data and policies, not just clever.”

To learn more about Follett Software AI for IT Asset Manager, visit follettsoftware.com/technology-suite/it-asset-manager.

About Follett Software | follettsoftware.com

Follett Software delivers intuitive, unified technology that helps K-12 educators and administrators streamline operations and improve student outcomes. A trusted partner to more than 70,000 schools, Follett provides comprehensive solutions for library, curriculum, IT, and facilities management – all in one platform. Named to the GSV 150 and recognized by EdTech Digest and T&L ISTE Best of Show, Follett Software’s award-winning platform provides real-time insights and productivity tools that save time, reduce costs, and support smarter decisions. With a deep commitment to K-12 success and a legacy of trusted service, Follett Software continues to deliver the clarity, innovation, and support that schools need most.

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