Techniker Krankenkasse's AI avatar to help international specialists
Specialists from abroad can have a hard time due to language barriers, especially when it comes to insurance issues. TK's AI avatar is designed to help.
If you want to test Vanessa, you have to unmute her.
(Image: Techniker Krankenkasse)
Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) wants to help international professionals with an AI avatar called GoVanessa, which is designed to provide expats with comprehensive information about German social insurance. GoVanessa can answer more than 2,000 questions around the clock in six different languages, including English, French, Spanish, Hindi, Mandarin, and German.
GoVanessa is a digital image of TK employee Vanessa Rais, who advises foreign professionals herself and therefore knows the questions that the artificial intelligence needs to answer. The most frequent questions concern the payment of health insurance contributions and how a visit to the doctor works in Germany. There are also numerous other questions that come up regularly, such as tax identification numbers, invoices, registration certificates, doctor's appointments, electronic health cards and child sick notes.
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According to TK, GoVanessa uses what is known as deterministic AI. It will only use verified answers and will not learn any new content. In this way, TK wants to ensure that no misinformation or AI hallucinations are spread. In addition, all questions remain anonymous, and IP addresses are not stored, the health insurance company explains.
The AI avatar is initially designed specifically for foreign professionals. If the service is well received, TK plans to expand the AI advice service further, according to TK CEO Jens Baas. The aim is to familiarize international specialists with the German healthcare system before they arrive in Germany. According to Baas, language barriers prevent many international employees from calling German hotlines.
(mack)
