As the COVID-19 pandemic has escalated globally, health organizations and governments don't always have the resources to provide updates and information in the timeliest manner possible. Conversational AI and related technologies are playing a significant role in keeping citizens informed as physical resources and manpower struggle to keep up.
Conversational AI works by enabling computers and devices to process and respond to both voice and text input. It offers an interactive medium for conversations and free form questions, enabling large organizations to interact with citizens on a personal level without the need to allocate physical resources and human agents, who are in high demand.
Conversational AI "agents" are equipped to provide real-time insights about COVID-19 issues like the location of test sites, the turn-around time for results, symptoms and location-based recommendations.
India's MyGov, the largest government-to-citizen portal in the world, is already making use of conversational AI to offer coronavirus information. According to a post in TechTalks, MyGov recently launched the MyGov Corona Hub, which uses the interactive Facebook Messenger system. It incorporates conversational AI to offer interaction analysis as well as surveys of the public on their health and wellbeing. The offering is being promoted via Facebook, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, Twitter and Telegram.
For its part, Facebook is targeting government health organizations through its new global program, which aims to help organizations take advantage of AI and messaging technologies. The initiative calls on Facebook's development community to create free services for government health organizations and UN health agencies, enabling them to use Messenger to scale their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Developers are working on features like automating responses to commonly asked questions and helping organizations share updates with their audiences through the most efficient and effective channels available. The solutions will also work to seamlessly transition conversations with AI agents to human agents when necessary.
The Ministry of Health in Argentina has already launched a Messenger experience to share coronavirus information and better engage with citizens. The solution, which includes support from Botmaker.com, offers official advice for the public and is available 24 hours a day. UNICEF is also using Messenger during the COVID-19 crisis, as well as Pakistan's Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination.
“Facebook’s support on the global coronavirus crisis will be crucial for strengthening public awareness and empowering our citizens with key health tips that will keep communities safe in Pakistan and around the world," said Dr. Zafar Mirza, the special assistant to Pakistan’s Prime Minister on Health. "The Messenger experience allows our Ministry to scale our support and serve citizens seeking up to date information on the coronavirus, while keeping our helpline open for more critical cases.”
To provide additional information about how conversational AI and automation technologies are transforming the workforce and impacting large global organizations, TMC is hosting a Future of Work Expo from June 22-25, 2021 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The event will examine how AI and automation are impacting applications in the contact center, customer service, sales and marketing industries and beyond.
Edited by
Maurice Nagle
