Meet Ember: AI chat for IT help

We are pleased to announce the launch of Ember, a new AI-powered chat support service developed with Norman Managed Services, our out-of-hours support partner. From 1 December 2025, Ember will be available whenever our central IT Service Desk team are not. 

Improving out-of-hours support with AI chat  

Ember marks an exciting step forward in how we deliver IT support across the University. This new out-of-hours service introduces a conversational AI chatbot that can answer common IT questions, guide troubleshooting, and provide help with using University systems and tools. When necessary, Ember can seamlessly hand over to a human - offering the Service Desk’s first live IT chat support experience. 

Seamless collaboration with the central IT Service Desk 

Ember complements our existing support channels. You’ll still be able to reach our out-of-hours partner by phone if you prefer, but from 1 December you can also access chat support directly from our IT Help pages whenever our Service Desk analysts are unavailable. 

All support queries - whether resolved by Ember or escalated - will be recorded in Oxford Service Manager and will appear in IT Self Service the next working day. This means you can easily review your support call history, and our teams can continue to monitor, learn from, and improve the service.

Any queries that cannot be fully resolved by Ember will be escalated to the Service Desk as soon as staff are available, ensuring that every call receives the right attention and resolution. 

Looking ahead 

By combining the trusted expertise of the Service Desk with the innovation of Norman’s AI technology, Ember will enhance our wrap-around, 24/7 IT support — extending our reach and responsiveness beyond standard working hours. 

The central IT Service Desk and Norman Managed Services will continue to enhance Ember’s ability to meet the evolving needs of our users.