How Is Val-d’Oise Improving Access to Public Services Using a Sovereign AI Agent?

The challenge: improving access to information and streamlining online services

Modernize customer service at the departmental level.

Modernizing Customer Service in a Community of 1.25 Million Residents

In response to the steady increase in requests from citizens and the wide range of departmental responsibilities (social services, senior care, public roads, middle schools, culture), the Information Systems and Digital Technology Division (DSIN) has set several modernization goals:

• 24/7 Accessibility: Provide a single point of contact available at all times, allowing citizens to find specific answers outside of the operating hours of in-person and telephone service desks.
• Moving Beyond Keyword Search: Overcoming the limitations of the institutional website’s old search engine (often considered rigid and unintuitive) by enabling natural search using everyday language.
• Effective guidance and support: Reduce administrative complexity by directly guiding users to the correct forms and online procedures (services portal, financial assistance, MDPH services).
• Digital Inclusion and Satisfaction: Ensuring equitable access to information for all members of the public while improving the overall satisfaction rate with departmental services.

The goal: to have a cross-functional AI platform capable of meeting both the school’s external guidance needs and its internal needs.

The solution: a fully autonomous and controlled chatbot

A secure AI agent tailored to public sector challenges.

Virtual support that draws on the Department's expertise

To address these challenges, the Val-d’Oise Department has deployed a conversational AI agent that is directly integrated into the department’s web portal. Developed using the Wikit Semantics platform, the agent handles the first level of information and user guidance:

• Broad functional scope: The agent is trained using the local government’s official documentation to address key topics (social assistance, parenting support, transportation, the environment, and cultural and community life).
• Natural Language Understanding: Using natural language processing (NLP), the agent interprets informally or imprecisely phrased queries and provides concise, reliable, and context-sensitive responses.
• Redirecting users to online services: Rather than simply providing passive information, the agent offers direct links to online procedures (Simplified Procedures, dedicated portals) to encourage users to handle matters on their own.
• Referral and Customer Guidance: When a request involves a complex or personal situation requiring specific assistance, the agent directs the user to the in-person service counters or the appropriate department.

Security, GDPR, and Sovereignty: The Public Sector Trust Framework

The integration of generative AI within a local government requires the highest level of assurance regarding data protection and regulatory compliance:

• Sovereign and Secure Hosting: All data and processing operations are hosted in France on highly secure sovereign cloud infrastructures, ensuring compliance with European regulations.
• Hallucination Control (RAG Architecture): Llagent uses a restricted Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architecture. The generated responses are based exclusively on the municipality’s documentary sources, which have been previously verified and validated by the DSIN.
• GDPR Compliance & Model Retraining: No user personal data is stored or used to retrain public models.
• Digital Accessibility (RGAA): The user interface has been designed to comply with online accessibility standards, ensuring a seamless browsing experience for all citizens.

The results: a reimagined relationship with citizens, available 24 hours a day

Uninterrupted service and increased efficiency in everyday operations.

Immediate benefits for users and the Department's services

• Continuous, uninterrupted availability: Immediate handling of user requests in the evenings, on weekends, and on holidays—times when the website frequently experiences traffic spikes.
• Streamlining the citizen experience: reducing the time spent searching the institutional website by providing direct access to essential information and application forms.
• Reducing the workload on the first level of customer service: Automated handling of repetitive, low-value-added inquiries, allowing departmental customer service teams to focus on assisting with complex cases.
• Management autonomy for the DSIN: an administrative interface that allows teams in Val-d’Oise to quickly update the knowledge base and monitor agent performance without requiring any development skills.