- DWP announces four/six year project to deploy AI in benefits call centers
- Claimants are on the rise and millions of work hours have been wasted
- The UK government is set to undertake a much bigger transformation
The UK’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is currently seeking a contract to deploy a conversational AI agent to help handle some benefits calls, in the hope that it can both improve the experience and reduce costs.
Part of the cost reduction will involve spending of up to £23.4 million (including VAT) on the project, up from the previous estimate of £10.8 million, as the Government aims to increase efficiency.
The procurement notice calls for a natural language call steering system that allows citizens to speak naturally, allowing the system to identify intent and route calls efficiently.
DWP wants to use AI to answer the phone
Key outcomes will include routing callers to the right human agent in the first place and providing personalized self-service and call diversion options to reduce the burden on human workers.
Not only must the solution be based in the UK and hosted on a dedicated cloud, but it must also be compliant with a number of frameworks, including GDPR/DPA and the HMG Security Policy Framework.
The government is now welcoming bids, with the project scheduled to take place between July 6, 2026 and July 5, 2030. Two optional twelve-month extensions, taking it until July 2032, could be offered.
The DWP’s AI project comes against a worrying backdrop: in the four years from May 2019 to 2023, the UK saw an 11.8% increase in the number of benefit claimants, the equivalent of around 2.4 million additional people, putting strain on the existing system.
In 2022-23, as many as 31.6 million call minutes could have been avoided, according to a National Audit Office report for the DWP.
Businesses seeking government contracts have until January 16 to inquire and until February 2 to apply to participate. Confirmation of the winning bid is expected by June 1.
More importantly, it comes as the UK government admits its critical failure in securing all systems by 2030, highlighting a much bigger technological shift at Downing Street.
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