The rapid digitization post the pandemic made every industry adopt digital support options overnight, and government services are no such exception. For decades, the government/public sector has been trying to find better ways to deliver their services to the public in an effortless manner. 

Studies have shown that 69% of consumers use chatbots for their ability to provide quick replies to simple questions - something that could significantly improve the experience that people have when working with government bodies. Some government agencies across the world have already deployed chatbot technology, while others are slowly exploring it. However, let's look at the benefits, use cases, and real-time examples of why government chatbots are a must-have. 

What are government chatbots? 

Government chatbots are the bots used by the government to help citizens and visitors get access to the right information and services. They can offer users information on laws, policies, rules, regulations, and more. Government services and data are quite complex in nature and are meant to cater to an entire population. This makes it difficult for customers to get easy access to the information via human agents with long wait times, conversation drop-off, etc. Deploying a chatbot allows customers to reach out for support and get their queries resolved in real-time. 

What are the benefits of government chatbots? 

Instant customer service

The support offered by government services isn't fast enough. Either specific departments aren't equipped with the latest technologies or the staff aren't on board with the latest tools. Chatbots can quickly eliminate this problem by providing immediate answers to common customer queries.

On-site support

Chatbots can help citizens navigate around the website easily and find what they are looking for. Chatbots can also offer proactive support to help users get the right information. For instance, if the customers find it hard to get any information, chatbots can offer support or direct links to access any particular section of the website. 

Available 24/7

Local government usually operates only on weekdays and at certain timings. This means that citizens have to reach out only at specific times. With chatbots, government/ public services can offer 27/7 customer support. They can assist customers with all the common queries. In case of complex queries, chatbots can collect customer information and pass it on to a human agent in their next available hour.

Cost-efficient

It's been proven that chatbots help reduce support costs by 30%. Unlike private companies, the government does not receive queries only from a certain section of people but the entire population. Hiring agents to resolve increasing support tickets is expensive. But a single chatbot can cater to multiple customers simultaneously with rapid responses. This limits your spending and also improves your customer experience. 

Boost agent productivity 

Government services are flooded with customer queries. Reports have proven that chatbots are capable of handling full conversations with customers and do so almost 70% of the time. Chatbots can do the heavy lifting by handling all the common queries and letting the agents focus on the complex ones. 

What are the different use cases of government chatbots? 

Public health information: Chatbots can offer customers public health updates and information. Citizens can get immediate access to emergency protocols and disease awareness instantaneously via chatbots.

Tax information: These chatbots offer citizens information on tax management, including tax obligations and advances. They can also help with tax filing and the specified deadlines.

Transport information: Chatbots can offer riders public transit timetables. They can get the exact status and timing of trains and buses offered by the government. Chatbots can also suggest the best routes and bus/train numbers to the riders.

Citizen Feedback: Using a chatbot is one of the best ways to collect feedback from citizens. They help you get rid of boring surveys and forms and can collect feedback interactively. This feedback can be passed on to the right department to take necessary steps and actions.

Travel and immigration: Immigration is a tedious process and makes travelers wait in long queues to get their immigration process done. Chatbots in this service can assist travelers in the immigration process, the right visa type, and the required documents.

Motor Vehicle department: The department of motor vehicles is another government service that deals with many repetitive tasks, including issuing and renewing licenses, parking permits, etc. Chatbots can make these processes more straightforward by reducing the paperwork and automating the renewal processes.

Examples of government chatbots 

 

1. Telangana government, India

The Telangana government tackled COVID-19 with Freshdesk Omni self-assessment bots. Freshdesk Omni bots are equipped with an automated self-assessment tool based on WHO guidelines. It supports three different languages, namely Telugu, English, and Hindi, to make it easier for the local citizens. 

Freshdesk Omni self-assessment bots could identify symptoms and exposure based on a series of close-ended questions and collect the users' medical history. Based on the responses, the bot would classify the users if they were safe or needed to be quarantined. With the help of medical history, it could detect high-risk patients and offer the nearest testing center details. 

This tool helped deflect a huge volume of patient enquiries from the State’s stretched health system and became a vital asset in the government’s COVID-19 response. 

 2. Department of Home Land Security, USA

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of Department of Home Land Security developed the EMMA chatbot to deal with immigration queries. This chatbot offered users information on green cards, immigration and passport services, and more. This bot also enables speech inputs and supports English and Spanish languages. 

3. Government of Singapore

The Ministry of Communications and Information uses Gov.sg, a Facebook Messenger chatbot, to offer citizens and visitors information on government agencies, workforce, policies, and press releases. This chatbot gets data from the public government website and offers it via Facebook to users. 

Choose Freshdesk Omni for government chatbots 

The government sector includes a huge volume of data that needs to be secure. Chatbots are the best solution for the government to save costs and offer citizens rapid resolutions.  Here’s why you should choose Freshdesk Omni chatbots.