KR — 전자신문
Seongnam City Introduces AI Handling of Night and Holiday Civil Complaints, Routing Emergencies to On-Duty Staff
AI1 min read
Seongnam City in South Korea is adding an AI voice bot to handle citizen calls at night and on holidays. Emergencies will still be sent to a duty worker.
What happened
Starting on the 22nd, Seongnam City will run an "AI night duty voice bot" for calls that come into the City Hall duty room after hours. The bot talks with callers, finds out what they need, and guides them or records their complaint. For problems like illegal parking or missed trash pickups, it asks where and what happened, saves the complaint, passes it to a duty worker, and sends the caller a text message to confirm. If there is a fire or flooding, the call goes straight to a duty worker.
Key facts
- Start date: the 22nd (the city announced the plan on the 20th).
- Phone line: Seongnam City Hall duty room.
- Regular Seongnam call center hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., weekdays only (closed on weekends, and on public holidays).
How it is different
Older phone systems, called ARS, use a recording and ask callers to press numbers. This bot is different because callers simply speak in their own words. The bot figures out the type of question and then answers it or takes the complaint.
Why it matters
Routine questions can be answered quickly by AI, so callers wait less. Staff can then focus on urgent cases and complaints that need a person to act. The city says this should make government work more efficient and more convenient for residents.
What to watch
- Whether callers wait less time once the bot starts on the 22nd.
- How well the bot sorts urgent calls and sends them to a person.
- Whether the city expands the service to other times or services.