By adopting Yokeru’s AI calls, Westminster City Council has been able to make regular direct contact with more than 11,500 vulnerable individuals in the community, regardless of their age or digital literacy. The technology has enabled the council's staff to identify the unmet needs of residents, many of whom are suffering from social isolation and loneliness.
With Yokeru’s support, the council was able to reach 5.5% of shielding residents to provide basic support. This is compared to the national average of 0.89%
Yokeru's AI platform is an engagement tool for sharing information with, and collecting critical information from, large groups of people. The pandemic has had a significant impact on our communities, and has changed the way people are supported by local government. Remote support is now more critical than ever. This makes it a necessity to use state-of-the-art technology to support vulnerable people.
A spokesperson for Westminster City Council commented: “The use of Yokeru has two main benefits. It reduces the chances of people ‘slipping through the net', and also allows the council to implement preventative support. The technology means our community is safer and better supported.
“Yokeru's platform enables Westminster to identify vulnerability within the community rapidly, and allows us to support specific needs as they arise.”
Contacting 11,500 households in such a short time would not be feasible using a human operator. The current level of calls made by Yokeru would take 152 working days of continuous human call centre time to collect the same information.
Calls last from two to five minutes and are made every two weeks during regular waking hours. Responses, once analysed, are sent instantly to the council’s case management system, to be acted on immediately.
“Yokeru’s AI Calls have made a great difference in how we communicate with residents, allowing us to get in contact with people quickly and being able to identify their specific needs. During these difficult times, it’s important we stay in touch with our vulnerable residents to make sure they are supported.” - Cllr Heather Acton, Westminster City Council Cabinet Member for Communities and Regeneration.
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