New Vic Govt chatbot speaks eight languages

A new chatbot developed by Think HQ in collaboration with the Victorian Government’s Department of Families, Fairness and Housing has been designed to deliver multilingual support for multicultural communities.

The AskVic WhatsApp chatbot can engage with users and share vital information in eight different languages.

The tool was originally developed to increase accessibility to reliable COVID-19 information and support among culturally and linguistically diverse communities. It can serve in-language information to user queries and link out to further information and support services.

Longer term, the chatbot will be developed as a vital information source for migrant groups to support equal access and participation in Victorian life.

Supported languages are English, Hindi, Arabic, Vietnamese, Turkish, Punjabi, Spanish and Filipino.

ThinkHQ Head of Digital Olivier Laude said the app was developed using a human-centred design philosophy, and that content and cultural relevance as well as technological capabilities were also key elements of the design.

“The AskVic WhatsApp chatbot will provide essential information to audiences that are too often forgotten from traditional communications in Australia,” he said. “We are proud to have delivered an innovative technical solution built with users to reflect all the cultural and linguistic nuances.”

The tool is built on open-source technology, including the Rasa Conversational AI, and uses the BotFront authoring platform.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/sdecoret