Futurists have been envisioning ‘talking computers’ for ages and they are not just science fiction but the reality today. Artificial intelligence is already transforming our daily lives. It is no surprise that the government sector is adopting this rapid technological advancement rather quickly. Governments have already begun to adopt chatbots; computer programs that one can talk to by text or voice. This is helping government agencies improve their speed and quality of service and citizens’ in-turn are getting a better customer experience.

In many cases, talking with chatbots can speed up interactions and reduce wait times by way of answering queries with complete accuracy, pulling knowledge instantly from a database, and freeing up valuable time of government call center agents. Chatbots are available anytime, anywhere and are easy to use for today’s digital citizens.

Here are some government sectors where the use of chatbots can truly provide a great digital experience to citizens.

Retirement Services – Retirement agencies can help members get clarifications to their queries instantly from their knowledge base eliminating wait times to talk to call center agents and providing self-service. Live chats are possible too, in case required.

Unemployment Industry – Fraud in the unemployment insurance space is high and chatbots can help agencies point to fraudulent claims through advanced analytics and historical data modeling. Simple or complext questions about unemployment insurance tax and benefits can also be answered by chatbots.

Public Health – Patients managing multiple health conditions can leverage a chatbot to get questions answered on their health conditions. Advice on the appropriate course of action can be sought through chatbots rather than speaking to operators who might not be medically qualified.  

Are there examples to showcase how chatbots are being used in different government agencies? Here are 5 cases that are already in motion and in use in various government agencies.

1. North Carolina’s Innovation Center(iCenter) is piloting chatbots to free up internal IT help desk personnel from answering mundane queries
2. The city of Mesa, Arizona is testing a text message chatbot that can answer frequently asked questions about available services. 
3. Kansas City (Kansas), Chatanooga (Tennessee) and North Charleston (South Carolina) are some other cities using chatbots for answering citizen questions and letting them be part of city development by reporting problems.
4. The Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services is currently using a chatbot named “Missi” to support more than 100 inquiries, including those related to hunting licenses, taxes and drivers licenses. 
5. In the UK, a six-month trial is ongoing to replace the National Health Service’s (NHS) 111 service with chatbots through which residents can call for advice on non-emergency medical matters.

Chatbots are sure to become more ubiquitous in the days to come. Do you have questions about how chatbots can help you and your agency? Write to us and talk to our experts.