SHACADEMY · Consultancy • Systems • Technology
Ask Matt
An intelligent guidance platform developed and implemented by SHACADEMY.
People often struggle to find the right information. Organisations hold plenty of it, but rarely offer real guidance. SHACADEMY works with organisations to understand how they operate, map their customer journeys and build an approved Knowledge Pack — the structured expertise that helps people reach the right outcome. Ask Matt is the platform that brings that work to life.
Better guidance. Better customer journeys. Better decisions. Organisational knowledge, made accessible through conversation. Not a chatbot. Not a search engine. Not a booking system. A consultancy-led guidance platform.
The Challenge
The gap between information and guidance
Many organisations face the same pattern. Information is everywhere. Guidance is rare.
- Customers don't always know which service they need.
- Websites contain too much information to navigate easily.
- Enquiry forms collect very little useful context.
- Staff repeatedly answer the same questions.
- Enquiries frequently reach the wrong person.
- Organisations spend time redirecting people instead of helping them.
The Solution
Guidance, not just answers
Ask Matt is designed to work the way an experienced adviser would. It listens, asks the questions that matter, and points people towards the right outcome.
Understands the objective
Establishes what someone is actually trying to achieve before offering an answer.
Asks what matters
Only the pivotal questions needed to make a confident recommendation.
Guides to the right place
Directs the visitor to the right service, department, resource or next step.
Produces a structured briefing
When human follow-up is needed, the team receives context — not just a message.
Who is it for?
Almost any service-based organisation
Ask Matt's principles have been developed and refined in the outdoor sector, but the platform is not an outdoor industry product. Wherever people need help navigating services or making decisions, Ask Matt can help.
Typical environments include:
- Education providers
- Health and wellbeing services
- Membership and professional bodies
- Consultancies and professional services
- Public-facing service organisations
These are examples rather than an exhaustive list. If your organisation helps people make decisions, Ask Matt is likely relevant.
How SHACADEMY Delivers Ask Matt
A consultancy-led approach
Ask Matt is only as good as the thinking that goes into it. SHACADEMY is the implementation partner. Every project begins by understanding the organisation before any technology is configured.
01
Understand the organisation
Services, teams, values and how the organisation actually operates.
02
Map the customer journeys
The real questions people ask and the decisions they need to make.
03
Review policies and processes
The rules, boundaries and procedures that shape every recommendation.
04
Capture the knowledge
The expertise that currently lives with individual people, made structured and reusable.
05
Configure and validate
Ask Matt is configured, tested and reviewed before it goes live.
This is why the consultancy relationship matters. Guidance can only be as good as the knowledge behind it.
White-Label by Design
Your Brand. Your Voice. Intelligent Guidance.
Every organisation has its own personality, language and customer experience. Your visitors don't need to interact with an assistant called Ask Matt.
The assistant can be named, styled and presented to feel like a natural part of your organisation. Whether that's Ask Sarah, Visitor Guide, Guest Services, Ask the Team, Concierge, or something completely unique, the experience should feel as though it was built specifically for your organisation.
Behind the scenes, the same Ask Matt platform provides the intelligence that understands visitor objectives, asks thoughtful questions and guides people towards the right outcome.
Illustrative names
- Ask Sarah
- Visitor Guide
- Guest Services
- Concierge
- Ask Reception
- Ask the Team
Illustrative only. Every implementation is branded to the client.
Default attribution
Intelligence powered by Ask Matt · Implementation by SHACADEMY
A discreet attribution reinforces both the technology platform and SHACADEMY's consultancy-led implementation. Alternative arrangements are available under future commercial agreements.
Future Capability
Ask Matt Voice
The same intelligent guidance. Now over the phone.
Many customer journeys still begin with a telephone call. Ask Matt Voice is being designed to bring the same objective-led guidance and approved Knowledge Pack to voice conversations — so organisations can deliver the same consistent experience whether a visitor contacts them through the website or by telephone.
Rather than acting as a phone menu or automated receptionist, Ask Matt Voice is intended to have natural conversations that help people explain what they are trying to achieve. It asks thoughtful follow-up questions, understands the objective and guides the caller towards the most appropriate activity, service or solution — using the same approved information as the web-based Ask Matt platform.
Ask Matt Voice is a future capability currently under development. It is presented here as the natural evolution of the platform rather than a separate product.
One Knowledge Pack.
Every Conversation.
Approved knowledge is managed once and delivered consistently across every supported channel. Organisations don't maintain separate information for websites, telephones and staff — one source of truth powers them all.
A Multi-Channel Guidance Platform
The conversation may begin in different places. The intelligence stays the same.
Ask Matt is designed as a scalable, multi-channel guidance platform — not a website chatbot. The same approved Knowledge Pack powers every supported touchpoint.
Today
Website guidance
Live on the SHAC website and available for client implementations.
In development
Ask Matt Voice
The same intelligent guidance delivered through natural telephone conversations.
Roadmap
Internal staff guidance & further channels
Approved touchpoints that help staff and partners access the same guidance visitors receive.
One Knowledge Pack. Every Conversation. The conversation may begin in different places, but the intelligence behind it remains the same.
The Commercial Pathway
A three-stage engagement
Most Ask Matt engagements follow the same shape: a discovery engagement, an implementation project, and an ongoing platform and support service.
Stage 01
Discovery & Prototype
A short engagement to understand the organisation, review customer journeys, prototype the guidance experience and demonstrate the concept.
- — Understand the organisation
- — Review customer journeys
- — Prototype the guidance experience
- — Demonstrate the concept
Stage 02
Implementation
The project phase — where Ask Matt is configured, the Knowledge Pack is developed and the platform is integrated, tested and launched.
- — Configure Ask Matt
- — Develop the Knowledge Pack
- — Integrate into the website
- — Test, launch and support
Stage 03
Managed Platform
The ongoing service — keeping Ask Matt aligned with the organisation as it evolves.
- — Knowledge updates
- — Conversation improvements
- — Monitoring and reporting
- — Support and future capabilities
Pricing is agreed on a project-by-project basis. Every organisation is different, and Ask Matt is configured around the reality of your services, journeys and knowledge — not a one-size template.
The Thinking Behind the Name
Good guidance begins with good questions
Ask Matt is named after a friend and colleague whose approach to helping people has shaped the philosophy of the product. He rarely started with a solution. He started by understanding what someone was actually trying to achieve.
Ready to explore
Could Ask Matt work for your organisation?
The best way to start is a conversation. We'll listen to what you're trying to achieve, review how customers currently reach you, and share whether Ask Matt is a good fit.