The Government launches Hispabot-Covid19, a consultation channel on COVID-19 through WhatsApp
07/04/2020
The Government has launched the conversational assistant Hispabot-Covid19, which operates via WhatsApp. It is an automatic consultation channel that uses artificial intelligence and natural language to respond to citizens’ concerns about COVID-19 with official, accurate and up-to-date information.
The government has launched the conversational assistant Hispabot-Covid19, which works through WhatsApp. It is an automatic consultation channel that uses artificial intelligence and natural language to respond to citizens’ concerns about COVID-19 with official, accurate and up-to-date information.
Hispabot-Covid19 is a “chatbot” service that will allow citizens to get immediate answers to the most common coronavirus questions 24 hours a day.
Following the request made by the Ministry of Health, this tool has been promoted by the Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, attached to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation.
The system, tested with more than 200 questions that can be asked in 1,000 different ways, uses information from sources of the Ministry of Health and other official agencies and relating to symptoms of the disease, prevention measures, information for protection, current figures, contact phones, etc.
To use Hispabot-Covid19 via WhatsApp, simply save the number +34 600 802 802 on your phone's contacts and type the word "hello" in a message to start the conversation. The service then welcomes you and informs you about the topics on which you can provide information.
Hispabot-Covid19 contributes to reducing the pressure on health phone lines, offering a simple and available information alternative at all times.
"At times like the present, it is necessary to have technological tools that offer official and reliable information to citizens at all times," said Carme Artigas, Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence. Hispabot-Covid19 has been created on WhatsApp Business API, using the global communications platform Vonage API and with Red.es as a point of contact.
In addition, it has counted on the collaboration of the ONCE Foundation, which has carried out an evaluation of the tool and has offered recommendations that have been integrated into Hispabot-Covid19 to ensure its accessibility.
This tool for resolving doubts via WhatsApp is added to COVID-19 Assistance (https://asistencia.covid19.gob.es/), the official web and app for self-diagnosis and information on the disease, which is already available in six autonomous communities.