A new virtual assistant to help residents find information and advice around adult social care is Wigan Council’s latest AI initiative.
Available 24/7 and designed to make reliable information instantly available, the online tool will help people feel informed, supported, and empowered to understand what support is available.
Councillor Keith Cunliffe, cabinet portfolio holder for adult social care, said: “We know that during moments of crisis, people can be unsure where to turn or what questions to ask to get the right care and support for themselves or a loved one.
“We also know that life doesn’t always fit into office hours. When people are managing busy schedules or seeking help late at night or early in the morning, searching online can often be the quickest and most convenient option.
“This new virtual assistant will enable people to ask the questions they want the answers to, at any time of day or night, and know that they’ll get clear, accessible and reliable information.
“Our front-door call line will still be here, ready to help people who would like to speak to someone. The new virtual assistant is an extra option and will complement our caring and knowledgeable team at the adult social care front-door call line who currently receive more than 13,000 calls every year.”
The assistant has been developed collaboratively between the council, partners, and local residents and with support from the council’s digital partner, Agilisys.
It has been carefully designed, built, and rigorously tested to ensure it meets the needs of people across the borough.
Councillor Nazia Rehman, cabinet portfolio holder for finance, resources, and transformation, added: “Wigan Council has a robust ethical policy and framework to use AI safely and responsibly. We have long embraced technology as a way to support residents and improve our public services, and this new virtual assistant is a safe, reliable source of information at resident’s fingertips.”
Peter Rogers, head of AI Incubator at Agilisys, said “We are focussing on delivering ethical AI products that add real value for organisations and create better services for local residents.
“This has been a great experience for us in learning how people use these products to improve their lives through the technology. Wigan Council have been an exceptional customer to work with on this programme and we are excited to continue this work to deliver better, more efficient and effective services across the council.”
In line with Wigan Council’s AI policy, all data is held securely by the local authority and no data supplied in the virtual assistant is used to make decisions or for machine learning, it is purely used to answer the question it was asked.
The team will be monitoring the chats regularly, to ensure the assistant is working as it should.
One resident who took part in testing the virtual assistant described the reassurance it offered: “I had genuine concerns about what might happen to me in the future when I can’t shower or cook for myself. The answers it gave me reassured me that I have options. I’m now feeling less worried about my future.”
View the adult social care virtual assistant on Wigan Council’s website.
