To better connect with its riders, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has partnered with Google Public Sector to develop Chat with a CTA chatbot, a new virtual assistant communication tool to help rider report issues and provide feedback to the agency.
“We are committed to continuing to find new, convenient ways for our customers to contact us and using more modern technology can help improve the CTA travel experience,” said CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr. “We’re happy to be partnering with Google Public Sector to help deliver the Chat with CTA chatbot on our website, providing our customers with a next-generation communication tool that will make it easier to ask questions and get the information they need in real-time.”
The Chat with CTA chatbot will add simple, one-step-away support to CTA’s website and resolve many questions and concerns within minutes. As part of CTA’s renewed focus on providing communication tools to support the diversity of the region, the chatbot will support English, Spanish, Polish, Simplified Chinese and Filipino/Tagalog. CTA notes 36 percent of people in its service area speak a non-English language at home.
“AI is fundamentally changing how many government agencies operate, fueling a new era of cloud that can benefit virtually every area of an organization,” said Brent Mitchell, vice president, U.S. State & Local Government and Education, at Google Public Sector. “By utilizing Google Cloud’s leading AI capabilities to power Chat with CTA, the Chicago Transit Authority can improve operations while providing a better overall customer experience.”
The Chat with CTA chatbot is CTA’s first step toward modernized, enhanced, and expanded customer support. The opportunity to create the virtual assistant builds on Google Public Sector’s previous partnership with the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) and opens the door to a state-of-the-art, CTA customer support ecosystem, offering customers an array of tools to best suit their needs.
Launch of the chatbot tool is anticipated in early 2024. Chat with CTA will answer basic travel questions and collect rider concerns related to the quality of their trip. The chatbot tool will not support emergencies or urgent matters that require immediate attention.
This initiative complements existing channels that CTA riders use to contact the agency, including CTA Customer Service’s phone number, email address, and a web feedback form.
