Microsoft-IIT Madras AI bot helps villagers access govt services via phones

Microsoft, along with AI4Bharat at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, has created a new generative AI-driven chatbot that is helping Indian farmers access government assistance on their mobile devices.

Called Jugalbandi, the chatbot can understand questions in multiple languages, whether spoken or typewritten. It retrieves information on relevant programmes – usually written in English – and relays it back in local language

While the Jugalbandi chatbot is still new, it could one day offer all Indians easy access to information in the local language through a mobile phone, instead of having to head to the local community service centre and stand in line just to get basic information.