AI for fast and trusted information

AI can be safely harnessed to tame the information mountain says Matt Wicks, co-CEO for technology and innovation at The Virtual Forge

Public sector organisations are forever dealing with a mountain of ever growing data, and one of their major challenges is finding and extracting what they need for accurate interrogation and analysis or to provide the public with crucial information – all at speed.

Unremitting pressure on the sector's financial and human resource is making this an ever more daunting challenge, with staff having limited time to search for the information they need to deliver information and services.

This is where a new generation of tools such as MyContentScout can help. By harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) within the safe parameters of an organisation’s content and policies, it can give health and public sector staff rapid access to digital information as required or help the public to quickly access different types of information themselves.

From reviewing case information from multiple services, providing evidence for policy and strategic decision making to supplying information to customer services and help desks or responding to freedom of information requests, MyContentScout can intelligently search, summarise and highlight the required information.

The complexity of legacy systems across all parts of the sector can make such tasks both time consuming and difficult. However, as highlighted in a recent study of time use in the public sector by the Office for National Statistics, public servants are open to using AI and automation to improve their productivity. These technologies promise to reduce overload and stress and enable them to spend more time on complex tasks where only personal skills, knowledge and human empathy will do.

A potentially popular use case cited in the study is AI reporting tools that summarise data, practitioner notes and long documents. However, justifiable concerns remain over accuracy and accountability – thus the essential requirement for adding firm 'guardrails' to the process to ensure that the information searched is accurate, up to date and complete. 

The Virtual Forge is exploring with one local authority how AI such as MyContentScout can be harnessed to explore and deliver ‘innovation’ within those safe guardrails, whilst minimising the implementation overheads. The head of IT of another is looking to harness the tool to mine maximum value and insight across multiple systems to both improve delivery and improve efficiency.

Fast search solution

The clear need for trusted and ringfenceable tools is what led us to develop MyContentScout, an AI solution that facilitates fast searches of large volumes of all types of digital content – documents, images, videos, audio and dashboards – to provide users with rapid, accurate insights and answers to queries.

It can be integrated with a wide variety of established and trusted data sources and provides several features that can support public servants in day-to-day tasks and long term planning.

One is an intuitive search function which makes use of advanced AI algorithms to intelligently deliver accurate and efficient results. It includes a user-friendly interface that makes it possible to enter a question using natural language rather than search for specific keywords, making it easier to find relevant results.

Another is the provision of AI generated summaries for each search result, providing overviews of the content retrieved by the solution without the need to look through numerous documents.

The solution provides interactive video and audio analysis, which pinpoints the exact moment in a video or audio file where the search text occurs, and makes it possible to generate summaries and quizzes based on the content. A similar function for document analysis goes beyond simply highlighting the search text within a document to providing summaries and quizzes to rapidly create learning content.

These provide big savings in time and effort, streamlining the acquisition and retention of knowledge by employees.

Content categorisation

MyContentScout also automatically categorises search results based on the type of content – video, image, document, audio file or dashboard – which enables users to quickly navigate and focus on the specific type of information they need.

It can also be integrated with Power BI to enable users to search for specific terms within interactive data visualisations. By retrieving relevant dashboards containing the search text it gives users more power to explore and analyse data.

All this can support public sector employees through streamlining processes and helping to address specific workflow challenges and inefficiencies. It simplifies information retrieval and makes it possible to customise the process to align with specific demands, such as supporting customer service, internal IT service desks, corporate research and working with organisational intranets.

It can also provide strong support for engagement with the public, integrating with online self-service channels to help them find information on: services the organisation provides; public safety advice; business support advice; employment and career opportunities; environmental initiatives; help with technology and online services; and community support networks.

MyContentScout is a flexible and intuitive tool that public sector organisations can harness  to provide more efficient and effective services to citizens while improving internal operations. Conversley, it can be used to ensure consistent messaging and a unified brand image across all channels to deliver the transparency that helps to build trust with the public.

Download the full brief below on how MyContentScout can help transform public sector efficiency or get in touch with The Virtual Forge to find out more, discuss a unique use case, or arrange a demo.