Customers will gain a new, modern way to communicate with the agency
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) has partnered with Google Public Sector to develop the much-anticipated Chat with CTA chatbot, a new virtual assistant to be featured on transitchicago.com. This communication tool will make it easier than ever for riders to 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. And as part of CTA’s renewed focus on providing communication tools to support the diversity of our region, the chatbot will support the following five languages spoken in the CTA service area: English, Spanish, Polish, Simplified Chinese and Filipino/Tagalog. Thirty-six percent of people in CTA’s 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, US 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 this 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. Always call 911 if someone’s safety is at risk. To report matters requiring immediate attention, such as a hazardous condition, always notify the nearest CTA employee.
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 on transitchicago.com. The Chat with CTA chatbot provides CTA with the first set of tools to start exceeding the high expectations of transit customers in the Chicago region.