The UK Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) has announced the launch of GOV.UK Chat, a business support AI assistant. The chatbot is in a limited trial phase to be tested by up to 15,000 businesses. 

The trial for up to 15,000 users will determine the next steps for a potential larger-scale testing and ultimate full rollout of the service. According to DSIT, the government chatbot will provide help and advice to business users backed by the information on GOV.UK. 

The generative AI chatbot is powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4o technology and was developed by an in-house team of data scientists and designers. The goal of the tool is to provide straightforward, personalized answers from complex information. 

“Outdated and bulky government processes waste people’s time too often, with the average adult in the UK spending the equivalent of a working week and a half dealing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,” said Technology Secretary Peter Kyle. 

“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. With all new technology, it takes time to get it right, so we’re taking it through extensive trials with thousands of real users before it is used more widely. 

However, DSIT has cautioned that its service will sometimes provide inaccurate results, much like other generative AI chatbots.