Next-level chatbot: AI for the ias Group’s healthcare portal

While the first chatbot primarily served a support function, the new AI chatbot was to be developed into a navigation assistant for the “Mein ias” portal. To leverage the benefits of artificial intelligence, the existing chatbot had to be completely replaced. Conceptual groundwork, such as structured question lists, could be reused. However, an in-depth examination of the extensive portal content was necessary to clearly distinguish non-AI-eligible topics, such as medical advice. For instance, while the AI chatbot is not allowed to provide a diagnosis for pain, it can offer tips for promoting mental health.

The content and technical integration of the chatbot followed a well-defined project methodology. Solutions had to be developed for technical challenges, such as integration with live chat for non-AI-eligible topics and differentiation between content accessible before and after the website login barrier.

The AI chatbot was operational within a few months without any technical issues. Using the Conversation Viewer in aiStudio, ongoing chatbot dialogues are regularly analyzed internally. When needed, additional content can be uploaded, and dialogue plans can be independently extended by ias experts to ensure controlled AI usage. In its first month alone, the chatbot recorded an average dialogue length of six questions and answers per user, indicating high user acceptance of the AI chatbot.

The potential for further AI chatbot applications in other business areas is being centrally evaluated as part of the ias Group’s portfolio management and represents a key element of their AI roadmap. The development of another chatbot for the webshop has already been approved.