Skolbot vs Mainstay: which AI agent for student recruitment?

Mainstay, formerly AdmitHub, supports students mostly by SMS, from access and enrollment to success, with proactive messages. It was acquired in March 2026 by Lemnis, a public charity. Skolbot handles recruitment only, with four agents on three channels: the website, WhatsApp and Instagram.

Comparison written by Skolbot from each vendor's public pages, checked between Oct 26, 2026 and Nov 9, 2026.

The essentials

Updated on

Who it is for
Skolbot Higher-education schools that recruit studentsMainstay Institutions that support their students mostly by SMS, from access and enrollment to success
What Skolbot does
Four agents on three channels (website, WhatsApp, Instagram) answer applicants day and night, from the school's knowledge base.
The result
Every applicant who leaves contact details reaches your CRM with study level, programme, campus, a score and a call brief.
Conditions
Our team sets it up in two weeks, once your content and access are in place. Price on quote. Data hosted in the EU. Mainstay pricing: On request.

A concrete case

Fictitious example. A candidate writes at 10 pm. They ask whether the bachelor's includes an internship, give their study level and want a call back.

On the Mainstay side, from its public pages

  1. 10 pm, the question comes in

    Skolbot

    The website agent answers at once, from your knowledge base.

    Mainstay

    Documented

    Instant support stated, anytime

  2. They give their study level

    Skolbot

    The agent records study level, programme and campus, then grades the lead.

    Mainstay

    Not stated

  3. They ask for a call back

    Skolbot

    The lead reaches your CRM with a score and a call brief.

    Mainstay

    Documented

    Salesforce, Slate, HubSpot and Ellucian listed; sync direction not stated here

  4. They go quiet

    Skolbot

    WhatsApp Activate can re-engage their cohort towards an open day or a meeting.

    Mainstay

    Not stated

The result in your CRM

What your team receives when a candidate leaves their details.

Skolbot · Record in the CRMFictitious example
Level
Two years of higher education
Programme
Marketing bachelor's
Lead
Hot

Call brief: call back about the internship.

Study level, programme, campus, score and call brief in the CRM

On the Mainstay side, from its public pages

Score and call brief in your CRM

Not stated

Criterion by criterion

Each cell links to its source, with the date it was checked. “Not stated”: absent from the official pages reviewed, which does not prove the feature is missing.

Key

  • Documented: stated on the vendor's official pages
  • Conditional or unspecified: depends on the plan, or no detail given
  • Not stated: not found on the pages reviewed, which does not mean missing
  • No: the official page states otherwise

The agents

Skolbot vs Mainstay: which AI agent for student recruitment?
CriterionSkolbotMainstay
Agent on the school websiteChecked on Documented. Answers on your website and hands over to your team when it has no answerDocumented. Web chat and live chat listed among the channels
WhatsApp: answers when the prospect writes firstChecked on Documented. Answers inbound messages, voice notes includedNot stated
WhatsApp: messages CRM leads firstChecked on Documented. Re-engages a CRM cohort towards an open day, an application or a meetingNot stated
Instagram: answers direct messagesChecked on Documented. Answers Instagram direct messages, day and nightNot stated
The service5 criteria
Skolbot vs Mainstay: which AI agent for student recruitment? · The service
CriterionSkolbotMainstay
Built only for higher educationChecked on Documented. Built for student recruitment in higher educationNoServes schools and businesses, students and employees alike
Setup done by the vendorChecked on Documented. Our team builds the knowledge base, connects the CRM and configures the agentsDocumented. Expert Services writes scripts and campaigns; a dedicated specialist tunes the chatbot
Contradictions between your sources found and resolved with youChecked on Documented. Finds contradictions between your sources and has your team validate themNot stated
Score and call brief in your CRMChecked on Documented. Study level, programme, campus, score and call brief in the CRMNot stated
Data processing agreement signed with each schoolChecked on Documented. DPA signed with each schoolNot stated
Languages and data2 criteria
Skolbot vs Mainstay: which AI agent for student recruitment? · Languages and data
CriterionSkolbotMainstay
Multilingual (6+ languages)Checked on Documented. Answers in the candidate's languageNot stated
EU data residencyChecked on Documented. Data hosted in the EU, DPA signed with each schoolNot stated

What changes for your school

  1. The whole journey, or recruitment only

    Mainstay sums up its approach as: start with access, finish with success. It covers enrollment and summer melt, then student persistence. Skolbot handles recruitment only: it answers the applicant from the school's knowledge base, qualifies them against your rules and, with their consent, sends their record to your CRM with a score and a call brief.

  2. WhatsApp and Instagram, not only SMS

    Mainstay's channels are SMS, live chat, web chat and social media. The pages reviewed do not list WhatsApp. Skolbot has two WhatsApp agents, Capture and Activate, and an Instagram agent.

  3. The service, plus a check of your sources

    Mainstay's Expert Services Team writes scripts and campaigns with the school. Skolbot also does the work, and also checks your sources: a brochure and a pricing page that contradict each other are shown to you before go-live.

The verdict

Mainstay fits an institution that wants to support its students mostly by SMS, from access and enrollment to success. For a school that wants to capture and follow up applicants on its website, WhatsApp and Instagram, with the setup handled and its current CRM, Skolbot is the one to choose.

When to choose Skolbot

You recruit students and want the setup handled for you: our team builds the knowledge base from your sources, connects your CRM and configures the agents. Your team provides access, settles contradictions and approves before go-live. Skolbot talks to applicants before enrolment, on WhatsApp and Instagram as much as on the website. Four agents answer on three channels: the website, WhatsApp and Instagram. When an applicant leaves their details and gives consent, their record reaches your CRM with the information collected and a score based on your qualification rules.

When to choose Mainstay

You want to support your students mostly by SMS, with proactive messages, from access and enrollment to success.

Comparing Skolbot and Mainstay?

See Skolbot in action on your site

Book a demoRead the case studies

Cost and the work left to the school

Skolbot

Price

On quote

Setup

Our team builds the knowledge base, connects the CRM and configures the agents, in two weeks.

Your team provides the sources and access, then tests and approves before go-live.

Mainstay

Price

See official pricing

Setup

Vendor setup support documented on its public pages.

Expert Services writes scripts and campaigns; a dedicated specialist tunes the chatbot

Source ·

Before you decide

What Mainstay does well

  • Expert Services Team that writes scripts and campaigns with the school
  • Two-way sync with Slate, plus Salesforce, HubSpot and Ellucian
  • Proactive messages: the institution writes to students first, from access to success
  • More than 200 US institutions according to the acquisition release
  • Approach grounded in behavioural science

Points for a school to verify

  • Pricing not published on the official website
  • WhatsApp and Instagram not stated on the official pages reviewed
  • Supported languages and data hosting location not stated on the pages reviewed

What your demo should prove

  1. 1Can the agent answer a real programme question without imposing a form?
  2. 2Which fields, triggers and updates does the integration support in your CRM?
  3. 3How are consent, opt-outs and human handover handled?
  4. 4Which channels, languages, fees and limits are included in your setup?

Frequently asked questions

Does Mainstay answer on WhatsApp?

Mainstay's official pages, reviewed on 9 November 2026, list SMS, live chat, web chat and social media, not WhatsApp. For a school that wants to answer and follow up applicants on WhatsApp, Skolbot is the one to choose: WhatsApp Capture answers inbound messages, voice notes included, and WhatsApp Activate follows up a cohort from your CRM toward one action.

Is Mainstay used for recruitment?

Partly: Mainstay covers access and enrollment, including summer melt, then student success, mostly by SMS. For a school that wants to capture applicants on its website, WhatsApp and Instagram and receive their records in its CRM with a score and a call brief, Skolbot is the one to choose, because it is built only for higher-education recruitment.

Who acquired Mainstay?

Lemnis, a US public charity, according to a release dated 24 March 2026; Mainstay becomes a division of Lemnis. For a school that wants to capture and follow up applicants on its website, WhatsApp and Instagram, Skolbot remains the one to choose, because it is built only for higher-education recruitment.

Method and sources

Comparison published by the Skolbot team, an interested party. Revised on Nov 9, 2026.

We read the official public pages of Mainstay. We did not test its product.

A feature that is “Not stated” is not a missing feature. Check the “Conditional” and “Not stated” cells in a demo.

See the 4 sources

One night, played twice.

Read the transcript

At 11:47 pm, Léa, seventeen, is looking for a school. An advert takes her to a website, but a fifteen-field form stops her. Six hours pass: she is not in any CRM. The same night starts again with Skolbot. At 1:12 am, she asks about work placements and gets an immediate answer. She leaves her first name and number. In the morning, her record and a summary of the conversation are waiting in the CRM. Today, Léa starts her course.