Enfield Council has announced it has rolled out IPsoft's Amelia technology platform as part of its digital transformation to provide residents with better online services.
The platform will be used to make it easier for residents to find information and apply for certain services or amend the personal information the council holds on them, such as a change of address or phone number.
It will also act as a personal assistant available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, improving the customer experience of interacting with the council.
"Public organisations around the world, and particularly in the UK, are under considerable pressure to deliver more with less," Frank Lansink, CEO for EU at IPsoft, said.
"The consumer digital revolution has opened up interesting new service delivery routes for public bodies, but has also placed high expectations on them, as citizens desire a seamless digital customer experience."
Amelia can analyse natural language, understands context of conversation, then applies logic to ensure resident are directed to the right department. As is common with these systems, the more it is use the more accuare it becomes. Additionally, it can even sense emotions, to make sure the experience is adjusted according to the resident's mood.
"With the rise of powerful cognitive platforms such as Amelia, government organisations have an opportunity to completely reimagine how frontline public services are delivered," Lansink added. "Organisations can not only unlock significant cost efficiencies as routine, high-volume tasks are automated, but, more excitingly, can unlock the full creative potential of their people."
One way Amelia is being used by Enfield Council is to help residents self-certify for planning applications and authenticate applications for permits and licences.
"Our approach to transformation embraces digital technology to find completely new ways of supporting residents, which, in turn, frees up valuable resources for reinvestment in front line services," James Rolfe, Enfield Council's director of finance, resources and customer services said. "Deploying IPsoft's world-leading artificial intelligence is another major milestone in this journey."
(Main image credit: Christine Matthews, Geograph)
