An AI-powered virtual assistant for communication of the State administration with the society

Summary:

The AI-powered language technology platform of the Latvian State Administration supports thousands of customers around the clock, providing advice and information. This AI platform offers automated translation, speech recognition, and speech synthesis, along with various multilingual support tools for e-services. 

Client: 

The Latvian State Administration, the Latvian State Radio and Television Centre, the State Revenue Service, the Bank of Latvia and other public bodies in Latvia.

Problem Statement: 

The Latvian government faced numerous digital challenges, with the accessibility of information and e-services at the forefront. Additionally, handling numerous repetitive requests on various topics consumes a significant amount of customer support time. Governmental bodies must adapt to these challenges to make public information and e-services accessible and user-friendly for all their customers.

Results: 

• Over 10 virtual agents serve more than 2,000 customers daily, assisting the public with over 6,100 topics. 
• Nearly 40 public bodies have integrated conversational agents into their websites, providing consistent, well-structured, and easily accessible support around the clock. 
• Improved user experience by making e-services easier to use and ensuring information is accessible.  
• Decreased number of complaints about information accessibility at the Bank of Latvia. 
• Customers of the Latvian State Radio and Television Centre receive accurate information from chatbot Signe, which handles over 25% of all customer support and inquiries freeing up more than one human operator.
• Toms, the State Revenue Service’s agent, helps gather data on the most pressing customer queries.

AI Solution Overview:

Hugo.lv is a language technology platform from the Latvian State Administration, freely accessible to all Latvian residents. It offers automated translation, speech recognition, and speech synthesis, along with multilingual support tools for e-services, including virtual assistants on public administration websites. 

Developed as part of the EU-supported project “Machine Translation Round 2” in collaboration with Tilde and the Culture Information Systems Centre (KISC), Hugo.lv aims to modernize state communication through virtual assistants.

The chat-bot development tool is the latest feature of Hugo.lv, created by Tilde in close partnership with KISC and Microsoft Latvia. To enhance daily operations, Hugo.lv integrates with ChatGPT via the Microsoft Azure Open AI platform, enabling sophisticated conversational bots.

These governmental chat-bots also aid businesses by providing e-Gov virtual services, such as company registration, secure electronic signature document signing, and tax return submission.

References: 

1. Hugo.lv has been integrating with the world-wide popularity talk boot ChatGPT on the Microsoft Azure Open AI platform. https://www.kis.gov.lv/en/article/hugolv-has-been-integrating-world-wide-popularity-talk-boot-chatgpt-microsoft-azure-open-ai-platform?utm_source=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
2.  From e-Gov to i-Gov : AI powered public governance in Latvia. https://tilde.com/products-and-services/ai-powered-chatbots/case-studies/hugo

Industry: Public Services

Vendors: Tilde, the Culture Information Systems Centre (KISC) and Microsoft Latvia.

Clients: The Latvian State Administration, the Latvian State Radio and Television Centre, the State Revenue Service, the Bank of Latvia and other public bodies in Latvia. 

Publication Date: 2021