Derby City Council extends AI project with multi-million deal after saving £200,000 with chatbots | Computer Weekly
Summary
“We want to make sure our services meet the needs of our citizens by becoming more dynamic and efficient, and increased use of AI is one of the ways we’ve identified as a means of achieving this,” he told Computer Weekly. Read more about tech at local government level • Canterbury, Dover and Thanet Councils in Kent have all been struck by simultaneous cyber attacks knocking systems offline, with indications of a link between all three. The AI assistants introduced in April last year instead try to understand the query, and if there is an online answer, it’s able to send it in a text, or otherwise redirect the call to one of 40 different departments. Simpson said that as well as the cost savings, the digital assistants have reduced demand on human operators, releasing time for them to spend with residents with more complex needs. “For us as a council, use of generative AI presents huge opportunities at a time when the government is calling on the public sector to increase productivity, and local authorities continue to face financial challenges.