Callers to some of Preston City Council’s busiest departments could find themselves being helped by a robot - if their enquiries are not too complicated.
That system - under which only 40 percent of people go on to speak to a human - uses a series of scripts which provides callers with relevant information and advice and directs simpler queries to self-service options.
The chatbot is an evolution of that software, but cabinet members were told that the benefit to the authority and residents remains the same in that it frees up advisors to speak to those callers who need additional support as a result of their query being more complicated or sensitive - such as dealing with council tax arrears or reporting a bereavement.
As part of the new contract that the cabinet has empowered the authority to enter into, the council’s existing automated telephony provider, Inform Communications, would provide phone services to the revenues and benefits, environmental health, waste and planning departments.
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