Service Victoria UX/UI & Digital
Vicky chatbot
Situation
Vicky, the AI-powered chatbot on the Service Victoria website, has been a valuable tool for providing Victorians with quick answers to common queries and guiding them through various government services.
However, Service Victoria was undergoing a platform migration for its underlying website infrastructure. This necessitates a complete redesign and redevelopment of the Vicky chatbot to ensure seamless functionality and an improved user experience on the new platform.
The existing Vicky chatbot was built on a platform that will not be supported following the website migration. Therefore, a ground-up redesign and rebuild are required to integrate Vicky with the new infrastructure. This presents an opportunity not only to ensure continued chatbot functionality but also to enhance its capabilities, user interface (UI), and overall user experience (UX).
The successful redesign of Vicky is crucial for maintaining a high level of self-service support for Victorians on the updated Service Victoria website, ensuring they can continue to access information and assistance quickly and efficiently.
Tasks
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To design and build intuitive and effective user interfaces for the Vicky chatbot that are optimised for both mobile and desktop/tablet devices.
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To seamlessly connect the redesigned Vicky chatbot with the new Service Victoria website platform and ensure reliable communication with backend systems.
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To refine and improve Vicky's ability to understand user queries and provide accurate and helpful responses based on an updated and comprehensive knowledge base.
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To ensure the redesigned Vicky chatbot functions correctly, provides a positive user experience, and meets accessibility standards across all supported devices and browsers.
Actions
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A significant portion of Victorian citizens access the Service Victoria website via their mobile phones, especially when needing quick information or accessing services on the go. A chatbot not optimised for mobile would lead to a poor user experience for a large segment of the population.
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The Service Victoria website is migrating to a new platform, requiring the Vicky chatbot to connect to different backend systems and APIs. Failure to ensure these integrations work flawlessly would result in the chatbot being unable to provide accurate information or complete user requests.
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Vicky's knowledge base needs to be reviewed and updated to reflect the most current information available to Victorians. Outdated information would undermine the chatbot's usefulness and erode user trust.
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Service Victoria is committed to providing accessible digital services to all Victorians, including those with disabilities. Failing to adhere to WCAG guidelines would exclude a portion of the population from effectively using the Vicky chatbot.
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Results
The implementation of a mobile-first design led to a significant increase in user engagement with Vicky on smartphones. Analytics data showed a higher rate of successful query resolution and longer interaction times among mobile users compared to the previous chatbot. Feedback gathered through in-app surveys indicated increased user satisfaction with Vicky's ease of use on their mobile devices.
The dedicated effort to ensure WCAG compliance in the redesigned Vicky chatbot significantly improved its accessibility for users with disabilities. Feedback from accessibility testing and user reports indicated that individuals using screen readers and other assistive technologies could now navigate and interact with Vicky more effectively. This aligned with Service Victoria's commitment to providing inclusive digital services to all Victorian citizens, regardless of their abilities.
The successful redesign of the Vicky chatbot has resulted in a more user-friendly, reliable, accurate, and accessible self-service tool for Victorians.
