7 Reasons Local Governments Need to Embrace AI Chatbots and Voice Assistants

As local authorities strive to meet the needs of their service users, they are now starting to look to technology to improve the services they offer. One example of technology that has emerged as a game-changer in the public sector is AI Chatbots and Voice Assistants. Local governments can use these easy-to-implement technologies to transform the customer experience, making it more responsive, accessible, and efficient for the customer.

The obstacles faced by local governments

In spite of their crucial role in people's lives, local governments often encounter a number of challenges when it comes to providing efficient customer service. These obstacles include limited resources, budget constraints, and outdated technology infrastructure, which result in bottlenecks, long wait times, delayed responses, and overall dissatisfaction among customers.

Additionally, local governments are expected to address the unique requirements of all their community, including vulnerable customers who need a more personalised approach to customer service.

Driving innovation

By embracing technologies like AI Chatbots and Voice Assistants, local governments can reduce their infrastructure expenses and enhance scalability, enabling them to quickly adopt new services and channels to meet public demand. At a time when the rate of staff turnover and the ongoing skill gaps contribute to the difficulties faced by local governments in supporting their communities, technology can play a crucial role in facilitating customer service that improves productivity, flexibility, and job satisfaction.

Outlined below are several ways in which local governments can derive benefits from these innovative solutions:

1.     Self-service capabilities

Utilizing AI-powered self-service capabilities allows citizens to quickly find information on frequently asked questions and handle simple queries. This frees up agents to focus on more complex issues that require human intervention, resulting in better resource utilization and reduced wait times for customers.

2.     On-demand scalability

During periods of high demand chatbot and digital assistant technology enables local government organisations to easily handle the increased demand.

3.     Real-time analytics

Real-time analytics enable tracking of customer satisfaction levels, identifying of patterns and trends, and allocating resources effectively. This improves your understanding of your customers’ needs, enabling you to prioritise urgent queries and respond more efficiently.

4.     Intelligent routing

Through intelligent omnichannel routing, local governments can direct customer queries through various channels, including voice, email, chat, apps and social media. This allows customers to utilise their preferred communication channel, resulting in a more personalised and favourable experience.  

5.     Channel swapping

Whilst most customers still favour starting with a phone call, it isn't necessarily the most appropriate channel if there are lots of options to consider or if visual information provides a more valuable response. Customers can seamlessly switch between a voice call and AI Chatbot whilst keeping the context, allowing them to continue their journey on any chosen channel without interruption.

6.     Extend opening hours

Chatbot technology allows local government to offer customer service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year through the customer’s channel of choice.

7.     Customised solutions

AI Chatbots and Voice Assistants can be tailored to meet the specific needs of local governments. This empowers you to deliver a personalised customer service experience, whether it involves handling specific types of queries, providing multilingual support, establishing expedited channels for vulnerable customers, or offering self-service options. Technology can effectively cater to the diverse needs of local governments.

It is time for local authorities to fully embrace the benefits of innovative technology and lead the way in transforming the public sector through innovative, forward-thinking solutions.  So contact us or call us on 0333 6000 360.  

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