Artificial intelligence 'chatbot' answering Telford council queries

The authority has launched 'Tom', a bot that can handle customer queries 24 hours a day, seven days a week, through the council website.

Developed by ICS.AI, the initiative has racked up an efficiency score of 96.8 per cent in its first few weeks in operation. That compares to an average score at a call centre for a first call of 84.5 per cent.

Councillor Richard Overton, cabinet member for enforcement, community safety and customer services, said: “With Tom, our chatbot, we have put this council at the cutting edge for the use of artificial intelligence, using the latest chatbot technology to provide information that local people can access through our website at any time of the day or night.

“Tom, is part of our wider campaign to encourage customers to engage with us through online technology rather than by phoning us in the first instance. It also means they don’t have to wait until our offices are open – Tom is available 24/7.

“By using technology to handle relatively simple queries, we enable our staff to concentrate on more important issues, meaning we can help more people, more rapidly. It makes us more efficient and more effective for our residents.

“We are carefully assessing how our chatbot performs and have been delighted at its efficiency scores so far. It is performing extremely well.”

More people using Tom means that council staff will be more readily available during peak times.

The council said that comparisons between a ‘smart’ AI assistant like Tom and a human call centre staff member show more issues are resolved on the first call, chatbot callers are never put on hold or asked to queue and the number of queries that can be handled are unlimited.