The Information Commissioner’s Office has developed an algorithmic tool to categorise the emails it receives.
Named the Registration Inbox AI, it uses machine learning to sort queries from organisations or sole traders who are registered or looking to register with the ICO for payment of data protection fees.
It sorts them into the type of query such as how to register, make a payment or change details.
The tool has been developed in response to the high volume of queries deal with by the organisation’s registration team, which can often create heavy caseloads for data protection fees officers.
Its newly published introduction to the tool says: “To reduce the burden on caseloads and ensure we respond in a timely manner to customers, the ICO, alongside selected third parties, have developed an algorithmic tool that categorises emails that are sent to the inbox and sends out auto-replies in specific cases.
Requests and changes
“The algorithm takes into account the content of the email being sent to the inbox and detects whether it is a request about changing a business address. In cases where it detects this kind of request, the algorithm sends out an autoreply that directs the customer to a new online service and points out further information required to process a change request.
“Only emails with an 80% certainty of a change of address request will be sent an email containing the link to the change of address form.”
