The U.S. Army has upgraded its AI-powered recruiting chatbot from Sgt. Star to Staff Sgt. Star, expanding its capabilities to help recruiters quickly access policy guidance and complete recruiting-related tasks, MeriTalk reported.

Currently supporting about 12,000 users, Staff Sgt. Star is expected to serve as many as 28,000 authorized users by November.

Developed by the Army’s Accessions Information Environment (AIE) office in less than three months, the chatbot enables recruiters to find authoritative information on policies, waivers and procedures without searching manuals or contacting help desks. The system is trained on official recruiting resources and is continuously updated as regulations and workflows change.

According to Jeffrey Faulkner, deputy product lead for AIE, Staff Sgt. Star operates within the Army’s recruiting IT environment and is available to authorized users. The tool was designed to reduce repetitive administrative work and improve recruiter efficiency.

The chatbot builds on the original Sgt. Star, which was launched on GoArmy.com in 2006 to assist prospective recruits. By integrating AI, the Army has transformed the platform into a more advanced recruiting assistant.