Testing AI in public administration: City of Pula on the way to more efficient communication

Beneficiary: City of Pula

The city of Pula is the largest local self-government in Istria, with more than 50 thousand inhabitants and almost 22 thousand households. It implements a number of digitalisation projects to improve work processes, information and communication with citizens, and the public services it provides to them.

Challenge: How to further improve communication with citizens?

Given the rapid development of artificial intelligence, especially in the field of large language models (LLM) and AI assistants, the professional services of the City of Pula want to examine their application and potential value in communicating with citizens. Currently, most of the inquiries come to the city administration by phone or e-mail, and the employees of the professional services respond to them. The city also has a specialized Smart Pula platform for reporting utility deficiencies, and in some periods Viber was used more intensively in communication with citizens.

Questions that arrive in the city administration by telephone and e-mail are often of a similar type and content and, among other things, the possibility of automating the answer to them is considered. One of the solutions is a virtual AI chatbot assistant that would be available through the city website. However, before investing in such a solution, the City of Pula wants to understand how it is implemented and maintained, what are the preconditions for its introduction, and how much it could cost.

Solution: Testing before investing in an AI assistant

The City of Pula has used the opportunity to use the EDIH Adria project and their services Pre-investment testing (Test Before Invest) Examine the ability to configure an AI assistant that would automatically and in real time answer typical questions received through the city website. After several meetings and workshops with the professional services of the City of Pula, the EDIH Adria team created a prototype of such an assistant on Infobipo's commercial platform. The prototype is intended exclusively for testing, and has the following characteristics:

• Hybrid AI Assistant combining artificial intelligence (big language model, LLM) with the so-called rule-based static and predefined content editing technology.
• People can be accessible via widget (windows) on the website, in which questions are written in natural language.
• Fast and precise answers frequently asked questions related to information and public services within the competence of the city administration.
• Supports multilingual
• It can also be implemented in the Smart Pula platform, on Viber and Whatsapp and on other communication channels.
• It is available 0-24. every day of the week and does not depend on the working hours of the contact centre.
• It is based on database made up of the most common queries of the citizens of Pula.
• Allows Upgrade, customize and add new content at any time.

TBI Project Outcomes

In addition to the prototype AI assistant, the expert team of EDIH Adria has prepared a report for the City of Pula as part of the free pre-investment testing service, which includes, among other things:

• Description of the potential system, i.e. technical specifications for the implementation of the procurement, if the City of Pula decides to implement a hybrid AI assistant.
• Recommendations of the EDIH Adria team.
• Estimate of the implementation cost and the running monthly costs of the AI Assistant.

‘Through the pre-investment testing service, we got an insight into the current capabilities of large language models and commercial platforms for the construction of AI assistants, which are increasingly on the market. Through these ready-made solutions, AI assistants can be created and implemented quickly and easily for the specific needs of organizations. They do not require additional development or management of overly complex AI systems. Participation in this project alone is important for the further development of urban digital infrastructure and channels of communication with citizens."

Dražen Stepanov, Head of Development Projects Department/Smart City,Administrative Department for Urbanism, Investments and Development Projects

Conclusion

An AI assistant could improve the availability of information to citizens and reduce the need for telephone queries and answering the same simple questions via email. This would free up additional time for city staff to communicate with citizens on more complex issues. Testing has shown that AI assistant technology, as a dynamic tool for digital support to citizens, has significant potential in creating a more efficient and transparent system of communication between the City and the community.