An online update seen by Interest.co.nz on Tuesday suggested the Government's AI chatbot pilot for businesses appeared to have fallen victim to funding cuts to official science, innovation and technology initiatives. Visitors to the site were met by a sad-face emoticon, saying the AI chatbot was no longer available. However, the Government says it was a pilot and was always going to end after a few months.
It was billed as "a chat companion designed to assist small to medium businesses in accessing government support and services more efficiently using AI."
GovGPT was launched in September last year as a pilot by the Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins, part of a programme to drive AI uptake among New Zealand businesses.
“Today I am also announcing the pilot of GovGPT, which will make it easier to access reliable government information and support for businesses and people wishing to interact with government agencies."
“GovGPT is an exciting first step towards a vision of a ‘digital front-door', where individuals can find answers to their questions about government in a convenient and timely way," Collins said at the time.
This week, Minister Collins told Interest.co.nz that GovGPT was a three-month pilot project, set up to show what was possible and using operational funding to run it.
"It was one of several AI chatbot proof of concepts/pilots being undertaken by government," Collins said.
"Other pilots/proof of concepts are ongoing. They include a proof of concept completed by the Government Chief Digital Officer for an AI virtual assistant to search across government websites to make it easier for New Zealanders to find the information and services they need," the Minister added.
"Work is under way to scope a pilot for this initiative. I want government agencies to embrace the potential of AI and am pleased to see work continuing on this," Collins said.
The message on the GovGPT site suggested decisions around the future of GovGPT and the AI Activator scheme, which Collins at the launch said would "unlock the potential of AI for New Zealand businesses through a range of support, including access to AI research experts, technical assistance, AI tools and resources as well as options for funding and grants," will be made later in the Callaghan Innovation disestablishment process.
Collins' press secretary Sharon Lundy said it was a pilot and was always going to end after a few months.
Meanwhile, Callaghan Innovation spokesperson Mike Eng told Interest.co.nz GovGPT could be resurrected.
"There hasn't been a decision as to its future, and it hasn't been decommissioned because of the disestablishment," Eng said. "As a pilot, it was always going to end after a few months," Eng added.
The demise of Callaghan was announced by Collins as part of a shake-up to the Government's science, innovation and technology strategy in January.
After Interest.co.nz's
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