Singapore government beta testing new chatbot to make official information more accessible

SINGAPORE: Singapore's government is beta testing a new chatbot to make it easier for people to find official information.Chat.gov.sg entered its final pre-release phase on Jul 3, and Facebook page ServiceSG, which is under the Public Service Division (PSD) posted about it earlier this month.In response to CNA's queries, PSD and GovTech Singapore said on Friday (Aug 21) that the chatbot is not a replacement for helplines or for officers who speak with members of the public.Finding government information can sometimes be "hard work", with various agencies involved, the GovTech and PSD joint statement said. "We wanted to make that simpler. Now there is one place where members of public can ask questions in everyday language, and in any of our four official languages, and get clear answers drawn from official sources," said the statement.ServiceSG, which describes itself as a "first-stop concierge" to help citizens access relevant government services across multiple agencies, directs the strategy and creation of the chatbot, while GovTech Singapore builds and runs the technology.The chatbot uses tools that the government already has in place as well as commercial AI services, and pulls information from official websites while including source links for users.When the questions are complicated or personal, however, a real conversation is still needed, said GovTech and PSD."What the chatbot does well is handle many of the common questions that come in every day. That gives public officers more time — time to listen properly, to understand what someone actually needs, and to give the personal support that only a person can," they said.In terms of security, conversations with chat.gov.sg stay inside government systems, and the AI tools used do not keep the chat history or feed it into their training.GovTech and PSD said the information on that chatbot will be up to date because it comes from official government sites. "We are also watching how people use the chatbot and learning from the questions that come in, so we can keep improving it."They added that the early response has been encouraging. "We want it to be easier for Singaporeans to find what they need, and we want our officers to have enough space to give proper attention when a personal conversation is required. We will keep working at both," said GovTech and PSD.