Accenture pilots virtual digital assistant with the Revenue Commissioners of Ireland, one of the first revenue agencies in the world to implement a voice-bot service for citizens

Artificial Intelligence Powers Agency’s First “Voice-Bot”.

Accenture and the Office of the Revenue Commissioners are piloting a voice-driven Virtual Digital Assistant to provide more streamlined tax-related services to Irish citizens. The Virtual Digital Assistant is powered by advanced Artificial Intelligence technologies. Revenue, Ireland’s tax and customs administration, is one of the first revenue agencies in the world to implement a voice-bot service for citizens.

The virtual assistant uses voice-processing technology to recognize and respond to phone queries about tax clearance certificates and, in some cases, to process applications for those certificates. The pilot is testing the applicability of voice-driven virtual assistants in successfully answering general information questions and simple requests that are made to Revenue over the phone.

John Barron, Revenue’s CIO, said, “We are very excited to be piloting this technology at Revenue. We continually work to provide our customers with improved and more efficient service offerings while taking full account of requirements regarding confidentiality and security of data. We recognize the potential benefits of artificial intelligence tools and believe this pilot will help us to identify innovative ways to improve taxpayer interaction and operational efficiency.”

Citizens are becoming more comfortable using AI for government services. Nearly 70 percent of Irish taxpayers surveyed as part of an Accenture global study said they would use AI to improve the accuracy of tax filings.

David Regan leads Accenture’s work with revenue agencies around the world. “We are delighted to work with the Revenue Commissioners of Ireland on this pilot. We have drawn on Accenture’s industry knowledge and our experience in the latest digital technologies and methodologies, including AI to develop this service. Technology is now firmly embedded throughout our everyday lives and is reshaping large parts of society. Revenue are leading the way with this pilot and we look forward to working with them to ensure success,” he said.