DIVA: AI-Powered Government Chatbot Enhancing Public Service Delivery in Mauritius

Citizens often face challenges in accessing information and navigating services across various government departments. These challenges include limited office hours, language barriers, lack of centralized platforms, and inefficient communication with public institutions. The Government of Mauritius identified the need for a digital solution that could bridge the information gap and improve service delivery.DIVA, an AI-powered government chatbot, addresses these challenges by providing a 24/7 digital assistant capable of responding to citizen queries across eight ministries. It offers real-time, multilingual responses, transactional services, and intelligent routing through web portals, WhatsApp, a mobile app, and a humanoid interface. This ensures increased accessibility, reduced administrative burden, and improved user satisfaction.

The Central Informatics Bureau (CIB), under the Ministry of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation (MITCI) of Mauritius, is the leading government body responsible for driving digital transformation across the public sector. With a strong focus on citizen-centric innovation, CIB manages national ICT initiatives that incorporate emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and data analytics.A landmark project led by CIB is DIVA - the Digital Intelligent Virtual Assistant (formerly known as MAIA). DIVA is an AI-powered government chatbot developed to streamline access to public services and enhance user experience. Deployed across eight key ministries and departments, DIVA uses natural language processing and machine learning to provide 24/7 automated responses, handle transactional services (like booking appointments or accessing civil documents), and support multilingual interaction in English, French, and Creole.DIVA is integrated across ministry websites, a mobile app, WhatsApp, and even a humanoid interface to increase accessibility and engagement. Its knowledge base is dynamically updated through website scraping ensuring accurate responses to citizen inquiries.CIB oversaw all stages of DIVA-s development - from drafting technical specifications and procurement to project implementation, testing, deployment, and operations. The Bureau also coordinates governance through technical and steering committees involving multiple stakeholders.With DIVA, CIB is setting a strong example of how scalable, context-appropriate AI solutions can transform public administration, improve service delivery, and build trust in digital governance.