Meet Darcie our digital helper

Our digital helper - Darcie

Our Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven digital helper Darcie is a smart technology that allows people to communicate anytime. They help thousands of people across the city every day.

Think of it like having your own personal assistant who can answer your questions and help you with tasks right away. You can get answers and information instantly.

The digital helper is an additional service that complements the other ways you can contact us. Darcie uses generative and conversational AI to understand what you ask and reply to you in a human-like way. As well as webchat, you'll also speak to Darcie when you call us. 

Using Darcie on the website

From anywhere on our website, click on the ‘Chat with Darcie’ button on the left-hand side of the screen. To start chatting, choose ‘Continue’ to confirm you have read and understood our Privacy Policy. By clicking on the “+”  to select “Customer Services” or “Adults Social Care” depending on your query and begin to ask Darcie your question. 

To get the best out of Darcie, start questions with, “How do I…”, “I want to…” or “Can I…”. Use four words or more but don’t make them too long. Try not to personalise the question.

If you don't get the answer you're looking for, try asking it a different way.

We have some additional features:

• ‘Hints’ for the most frequently asked questions to help you find what you are looking for. 
• Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down: Use these buttons to let us know how Darcie is doing. 
• Copy and Download: Easily copy Darcie's responses or download them for future reference. 

You can ask questions about many of our customer and adults services like Council Tax, pest control, adults safeguarding adults social care and many more.

Darcie uses our website to provide you with customised answers to your questions.

You can give feedback using the Thumbs up or down buttons after Darcie's answers by completing our short survey.

Speaking to Darcie on the phone

When you call us, Darcie will try to help you. If Darcie can't help, your call will be directed to the right person.

Previously, our phone system used a recorded message that gave you a list of numbered options. You had to press the option number for the team you thought might be able to help you. Darcie will have a conversation with you to understanding what you are looking for and transfer your call to the team that can help, if needed.

To get the best out of Darcie, try sentences such as, ”I want to pay my Council Tax” or “How do I report a missed bin?

If the answer contains an online option, Darcie can share this with you by sending you a link in a text message. When asked “Would you like this answer sent to you as a text message?”, say “Yes” to receive the message.

Let Darcie know if the answer wasn’t helpful and say that you’d like to speak to someone. By giving us feedback, it helps us to fix any issues and continue improving our customer service.

What we have done in Derby

We know there are benefits to using AI so we've decided to keep using and improving it to offer better services for residents.

Derby is one of the first councils in the UK to use AI technology, and we're leading the way in using it.

In April 2023, we added a digital helper to our website to help you find information faster and easily.

After this and to help speed up the development of the technology, we rolled out a version of the digital helper to our phone system to replace the previous number-menu system.

Like most new technology, it often needs updates. We continuously listen to your feedback and are making changes to improve Darcie. 

What we're doing right now

Now that we’re using AI, we think it’s important to let you know what we’re improving and how it’s working for you.

Since Darcie began managing our phone lines, it’s taken around 765,000 calls as of January 2025. About half of these were transferred to human staff.

Darcie supports you and works with our teams. We always check how it's working. To improve the service, we need you to use it. If it's not working for you, please tell us.

When Darcie asks for feedback after giving you a response, please tell us if the answer was helpful or complete our short survey.

Why we are using AI

Better, quicker and more personalised services.

Whether our phone system uses menus or an AI assistant, there will always be changes in demand and a wide range of services that people need.

Phone menu systems can't handle many requests, especially for councils with many services. They often can't help after hours. AI can handle many requests anytime.

An AI digital helper can with many requests anytime. Rather than being put on hold, a digital helper will try to answer your question (at the same time as answering lots of other people’s queries) and if it can’t, or if it detects you need immediate help, it’ll route your call to the right service as soon as possible.

It’s important for us to ensure that we always have alternative ways you can contact us. We’re committed to ensuring that our services are accessible to everyone.

Most people ask similar questions about a few services. Many calls have simple answers. When AI handles these, our staff can focus on more complex tasks and given you personalised support.

AI and how it is used in the UK

More than half of people in the UK know about AI, and about a quarter have used it. AI is already part of many digital services we use every day.

Examples of AI in everyday life:

• Biometric device log ins, such as FaceID.
• Digital voice assistants, like Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant.
• Social media feed suggested accounts and adverts.
• Smart home devices, like thermostats.
• Map and navigation apps with real-time traffic data.
• Banking – monitoring spending patterns to detect potential fraud.
• Product recommendations on shopping sites like Amazon.
• Recommendations on Netflix and other streaming services.
• Spam filters, spell-check, predictive text and writing tools like Grammerly or Word Editor.
• Services like Chat GPT and creative image services like Dall-E and Midjourney.

A 2024 report by the Local Government Association (LGA) says over 60% of UK councils are using or exploring AI. Derby is proud to be leading this journey.