Species360 empowers global users with scalable in-app support and self-service training

Species360, a nonprofit organization, developed and maintains the Zoological Information Management System (ZIMS), the world’s most comprehensive database of zoological records. The platform is used by over 1,300 institutions across more than 100 countries. Zoos, aquaria, and conservation groups rely on this software to collect, manage, and share vital information about animal populations. With a lean internal team and a rapidly growing global user base, Species360 needed a scalable, multilingual solution to continuously enable and support users effectively – without adding headcount.

To meet this challenge, Species360 implemented WalkMe to embed in-app guidance, real-time AI assistance, and multilingual functionality directly into the ZIMS platform. Using WalkMe Insights, the team identified usability gaps and built Smart Walk-Thrus, Launchers, and Shuttles to guide users through key processes. The addition of AI Answers further enhanced the experience, enabling users to better access the ZIMS database with accurate, language-adaptive support instantly – without requiring additional staff or costly localization efforts.

Since implementing WalkMe, Species360 has achieved 100% product adoption, reduced onboarding time by 60%, and cut support requests by 35%. With the addition of AI Answers, 75% of users now receive a helpful response through natural-language search – up from just 50% compared to before. Today, users across the globe can navigate ZIMS more easily, find the answers they need, and stay informed. This has allowed Species360 to scale its mission and increase its impact on global conservation.

Prior to discovering WalkMe, the Species360 team experienced significant challenges as their user base expanded. ZIMS, their flagship software, houses nearly 10 million animal records representing more than 25,000 species. With such a vast and complex dataset, it was critical that users knew how to navigate the platform effectively to input, manage, and extract the information needed to support conservation, animal welfare, and research.

However, training new users and supporting existing ones, especially as the platform evolved, became increasingly difficult. Static documentation and live support calls could no longer keep pace. Species360’s small U.S.-based support team was responsible for serving more than 25,000 users across 1,300 institutions in over 100 countries. This model was neither sustainable nor scalable.

“Digital adoption wasn’t even a term we were using at the time,” said Josh Courteau, Training Manager at Species360. “We just knew we needed to train new members faster, support existing ones better, and communicate platform changes more effectively.”

The organization sought a single, scalable solution that could empower users to learn independently, deliver consistent and accessible guidance across different regions and languages, and provide a reliable channel for surfacing updates. All of this needed to happen without increasing the size of their already lean support team. Because many users work directly with animal populations, having timely and accurate answers is not just about efficiency. It can directly support informed, time-sensitive decisions in the field.

Species360 implements WalkMe to deliver 24/7 self-service support and in-context guidance directly within the ZIMS platform. This empowers users around the world to get the help they need exactly when they need it, all directly in the flow of work without switching apps or context. Using WalkMe Insights, the team identifies key friction points such as users mistakenly accessing training environments or having trouble navigating specific parts of the system, and creates targeted, step-by-step guidance to help resolve them. Now, prompts appear within the platform at the exact moment users need help, whether to complete a task, adapt to a new feature, or understand a change. This approach reduces reliance on external resources such as documentation, training guides, or support tickets, and creates a more intuitive experience for users.

In addition to in-app guidance, Species360 also focuses on delivering the right information at the right time through contextual learning and communication. When users need additional support or deeper context, WalkMe routes them directly to relevant resources such as documents, websites, or videos. Using segmentation, the team ensures that content and messages are tailored to each user’s role, institution, or location. As a result, users see only what is relevant to them at the right time, which makes communication more effective and reduces cognitive overload. As ZIMS scales globally, this targeted, in-app communication has become essential for delivering updates, guiding change, and supporting adoption at speed.

“We don’t have another in-app channel for reaching users,” says Josh Courteau. “WalkMe fills that gap and has become essential to our change management process.”

To further scale support, the team uses AI Answers to provide real-time, natural-language assistance. By connecting AI Answers to their help center content, Species360 enables users to quickly and reliably search and receive contextual answers directly within the platform. This significantly improves self-service, especially for non-English-speaking users.

What began as a search for scalable support has become a long-term strategy for driving self-sufficiency and improving user experience across ZIMS. With WalkMe integrated into the platform, Species360 now delivers proactive, in-context support that meets users exactly where they are.

Users can navigate the system more confidently, understand new features as they launch, and resolve questions on their own, without relying on support tickets or external documentation. Onboarding time has dropped by 60%, allowing new institutions to get up and running faster. Support requests have decreased by 35%, easing the load on the organization’s lean training team.

The addition of AI Answers further strengthens this model by enabling users to access real-time, multilingual support without requiring additional documentation or staff. “We went from answering zero questions outside of English to being able to effectively answer in any language the model supports – without adding headcount. That’s a huge win for us.” says Josh Courteau.

This shift has also improved the day-to-day experience for ZIMS users. With 100% of users engaging with WalkMe’s in-app training and guidance, customers are now able to independently navigate the platform and fully leverage its capabilities. This reduces the need for one-on-one support and allows the Species360 team to focus on enhancing the tools and data that help their global community advance animal welfare, plant care, conservation, and research.

Species360 is now positioned to scale its mission, support more institutions worldwide, and continue evolving the ZIMS platform to meet the future needs of the global wildlife community.