Hong Kong to spend HK$4.6 million on improving public inquiry hotline, including AI

Government bureau says new feature will allow the 1823 public inquiry service chatbot to answer questions across all service areas by third quarter of year

Officials say ‘instant and convenient’ self-service will allow staff to focus on more complex cases

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The government will spend HK$4.6 million to improve its 1823 public inquiry service. Photo: Handout

Published: 4:33pm, 18 Apr 2024Updated: 6:19pm, 18 Apr 2024

Hong Kong plans to spend HK$4.6 million (US$587,420) to upgrade its public inquiry hotline, including a feature that will allow its artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot to answer questions across all service areas by the third quarter of the year.

The Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau said in a written reply to lawmakers that the chatbot would offer “instant and convenient” self-service to the public so staff could focus on more complicated cases.

The bureau said: “1823 is fully expanding the AI chatbot to answer frequently asked questions under all of its scope of service, such as applications for public rented housing and driving licences.

“We will collect user feedback on such aspects as the adequacy and clarity of the information provided, as well as the user interface design, in order to enhance the case handling capability and user experience of the AI chatbot.”

Tammy, the face of the 1823 inquiry service on its website and mobile app. Photo: Handout

The 1823 service is an inquiries and complaints hotline for 23 government departments and agencies. It dealt with an average of 1.9 million inquiries and logged 550,000 complaints every year between 2018 and 2023.