EzGov Europe And Creative Virtual To Extend Role Of Virtual Assistants In The Public Sector

Published 24th July 2008

Partnership provides complementary software to aid citizen navigation of complex websites...

London, 24th July 2008: EzGov Europe (www.ezgoveurope.com), the UK’s market leader in transformational solutions for the public sector, today announced a partnership agreement with Creative Virtual, one of the leading providers of Virtual Assistants for the web. Creative Virtual’s Virtual Assistant technology provides virtual interactive assistance, capable of holding conversations with web users in real-time. Virtual Assistants use sophisticated word and phrase pattern recognition to match pre-defined responses with natural language queries received from users. This gives users the experience of interacting with a live representative, one who can guide them in the completion of online forms or answer questions, at any time of day or night.

EzGov Europe sees Virtual Assistants, when coupled with the company’s transformative solutions, as enhancing the usability and uptake of public sector online channels. The partnership between EzGov Europe and Creative Virtual will help agencies to convert their online offering into the true ‘channel of choice’, and will reduce so-called ‘channel hopping’ by users who grow frustrated with the web offering and turn instead to the contact centre – a far more costly support option.

Steve Smith, VP of Sales and Marketing for EzGov Europe, explains that: “Large UK government departments can receive upwards of 5 million calls – per month. That’s an expensive proposition for the departments, and given wait times, too often a frustrating experience for citizens. We view the integration of Virtual Assistants within our bespoke solutions as an excellent way of helping clients achieve significant reductions in call centre volume by giving citizens a more satisfying and supportive experience via the web.”

“We are very much looking forward to working with EzGov Europe to bring this technology to central government,” says Chris Ezekiel, Managing Director of Creative Virtual. “EzGov Europe’s focus on innovation and customer service make then an ideal partner to help make this tool a key part of transformative strategy for the public sector.”

EzGov Europe will be one of the main channels to market for Creative Virtual in the central government arena.