Humberside Police trials AI assistant Bobbi for non-emergency questions
The force says Bobbi can answer frequently asked questions and direct people to the right support 24/7.
Humberside Police is trialling a new AI virtual assistant to give the public another way to get in touch.
The force says it is one of the first in the country to test the new system, known as Bobbi.
Bobbi was introduced on Tuesday, 25 November, and has been designed to answer frequently asked, non-emergency questions that would usually be directed to call handlers in the Force Control Room.
The AI assistant sits alongside the force’s existing online forms, telephone lines and front counters.
Humberside Police says Bobbi gives members of the public the ability to ask questions and seek advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The system interacts like a human but is fully automated, using trusted information to provide guidance or point people in the right direction on a wide range of policing topics.
The information used by Bobbi has been provided by Humberside Police, as well as Thames Valley Police and Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary, which are also trialling the system.
Humberside Police says the advice Bobbi provides is based on the same information used by call handlers.
If Bobbi cannot answer a question, or if a user asks to speak to a person, the chat will be transferred to a human operator.
The force says it has been monitoring, evaluating and analysing feedback over the past week to ensure the system works effectively and that members of the public can continue to contact police without any issues.
To access Bobbi, users can visit the Humberside Police website homepage and click on the blue speech bubble in the bottom right-hand corner.
People should always call 999 in an emergency.