Higher Education in the Age of AI: How AI Platforms Perceive Australian Universities

What does AI tell prospective students about Australian universities?

AI-generated answers are becoming a new front door to university discovery. Prospective students are using platforms such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity to compare institutions, courses, employment prospects and campus experience - often before they reach a university website.

Using Meltwater’s GenAI Lens capability, this report analyses 12 student-led questions across 10 leading AI platforms and 18,903 citations. It reveals which universities appear most prominently, how visibility changes by topic and platform, and the sources shaping AI-generated recommendations. A supplementary analysis also explores how Australian universities are represented across seven international student markets.