The UK government is expanding trials of its generative AI chatbot (gov.uk Chat, the government's experimental chatbot) to help small businesses navigate regulations and access guidance on gov.uk. The chatbot, now available to up to 15,000 business users, is linked from 30 key business pages, including resources for setting up businesses and trademark searches. Designed to streamline access to government information, it provides quick, personalised responses on topics like tax and business support, the UK Government said Tuesday.
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Built with GPT-4 Technology
Built by in-house data scientists, developers and designers using OpenAI's GPT-4 technology, the chatbot aims to reduce time spent on administrative tasks by consolidating relevant information from across gov.uk.
UK's Science Secretary Peter Kyle described the initiative as part of a larger digital transformation, intending to make government processes faster and more efficient.
"Outdated and bulky government processes waste people's time too often, with the average adult in the UK spending the equivalent of a working week and a half dealing with public sector bureaucracy every year," Kyle stated.
"We are going to change this by experimenting with emerging technology to find new ways to save people time and make their lives easier, as we are doing with gov.uk Chat," he added.
"This is an essential part of our ambition to use AI to improve public services in a safe and reliable way, making sure the UK government leads by example in driving innovation forward," Kyle concluded.
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Enhanced Guardrails and Safety Measures
Following a successful initial trial last year, where nearly 70 percent of users found the AI's responses helpful, new updates have improved accuracy, accessibility, and safety measures with inputs from the AI Safety Institute. Strict guardrails now prevent responses on sensitive financial or political questions.
"Since the last test, UK government experts have added “guardrails” that help gov.uk Chat detect which questions it should, and should not, answer," the UK government said.
Results from this latest trial, expected later this year, will inform further developments. If successful, the chatbot could eventually be rolled out across all of gov.uk's 700,000 pages, potentially transforming how the UK's 11 million weekly gov.uk users interact with government services, the UK government said.
A 2021 study estimated UK adults spend 3 billion hours yearly on government-related admin, highlighting the need for streamlined solutions like gov.uk Chat.
