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Requesting YaleSites Beacon

Beacon is now available as a feature on the YaleSites platform. Submit a request today to learn more about the onboarding process, training, and prerequisites needed to add Beacon to your website

Before You Request

Beacon works best when you’re prepared. Before submitting a request, make sure you’ve:

  • Read “Preparing Your Content for Beacon” to understand what make content work
  • Assessed your content readiness 
  • Identified who will own Beacon testing (involves subject matter experts)
  • Discussed with your unit leadership this is an ongoing commitment

 

Eligibility Requirements

To request Beacon, you must:

Have a YaleSite 

Beacon is a YaleSites feature on the new platform. 

Be approved by OPAC

All Beacon activations require approval from Yale’s Office of Public Affairs and Communications. This ensures Beacon aligns with communications standards. 

Join the Waitlist

We’re scaling Beacon thoughtfully because it’s responsible AI and the process from turning on Beacon to launching can take several months. 

The Request Process

Step 1: Submit your Request

Contact us at yalesites@yale.edu with the following: 

  • Your YaleSite URL
  • Primary contact name and email
  • Brief description of your site’s purpose and audience
  • Confirmation of leadership support

Step 2: Review

The Office of Public Affairs and Communication reviews your request. 

Step 3: Content Preparation

This is where most of the work happens and where most of the time is spent.

You’ll 

  • Improve content based on recommendations
  • Identify top questions for testing
  • Work with the team to configure system instructions

The YaleSites team will: 

  • Assist with setting up system instructions and AI metadata
  • Guide you through the quality check process
  • Answer technical questions

Timeline: Depends on the content, could take up to several months 

Step 4: Quality Testing

Once content is ready, you’ll be testing extensively:

  • Run through your test bank of questions
  • Evaluate answer quality
  • Identify and fix remaining issues

Subject matter experts can evaluate whether answers are correct

Step 5: Go Live

When testing is complete we’ll enable it publicly on your site. 

After go-live you’ll continue the test-review-update cycle to maintain quality. 

Timeline Expectations

The process typically takes several months from request to go-live. Most of this time is spent on content preparation and quality testing—not waiting for technology. Units with well-organized content move faster. This investment in quality upfront is worth it. Rushing to launch Beacon with poor content creates a bad experience for visitors and more work for you later.


 

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Beacon is Responsible AI

The YaleSites team has worked closely with several Yale units to successfully launch Beacon on their YaleSites. Trustworthy chatbots across campus is a goal for the units and our team.

Frequently Asked Questions

Typically several months. Most time is spent on content preparation and quality testing. Well-prepared units move faster.

No—Beacon is available at no cost to approved YaleSites. Your investment is staff time for preparation and ongoing maintenance.

Yes. Beacon can be disabled easily in the AI settings if it’s not working for your unit. But we recommend investing in the quality process first—most issues are content problems that are fixable.

No coding or technical expertise required. You’ll work in the YaleSites admin interface you already know. The YaleSites team handles the technical setup.

You do. Only subject matter experts can determine if an answer about your content is accurate and helpful. The YaleSites team can help with process, but not content accuracy.

YaleSites offers bi-weekly Beacon office hours and email support. You’re responsible for content quality; we’re responsible for Beacon functionality.