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ICS.AI LTD

SMART: AI Customer Services Assistant for Councils

The SMART Customer Service Assistant AI platform for local governments enhances customer interactions by enabling self-service, reducing service delivery costs, and deflecting routine enquiries – freeing up staff time to focus on complex issues. It offers 24/7 multilingual support, boosting efficiency across the council with a proven ROI <six months.

Features

  • Pre-trained AI answers queries with 90%+ accuracy, reaching human parity
  • Extensive library of pre-built skills for immediate deployment
  • SMART:triage system directs queries effectively, reducing need for human intervention
  • Accessible, customisable, intuitive UX, WCAG2.1AA compliant, multi-language translation
  • SMART:Mesh technology facilitates ongoing evolutionary improvements
  • Enables creation of new automation skills via Microsoft Power Automate
  • Pre-trained on over 1,000 topics for query handling and deflection
  • Intent analytics anonymously captures and analyses user interactions
  • Maintains high ethical and security standards, GDPR-compliant
  • Can be upgraded to Generative AI Copilot

Benefits

  • Automates customer interactions, available round-the-clock with 24/7 self-service
  • Decreases call volumes by resolving routine enquiries with AI
  • Boosts customer satisfaction and reduces wait times through cross-channel engagement
  • Reduces operational and contact centre costs by up to 60%
  • Enhances accessibility for all users, meeting diversity needs
  • Ensures privacy and compliance, ethically managing sensitive interactions
  • Promotes wider adoption by simplifying engagement across digital channels
  • Deflects high-volume routine enquiries, freeing up staff for complex tasks
  • Rapidly integrates with existing systems for quick and effective deployment
  • Improves staff retention and satisfaction by minimising repetitive tasks

Pricing

£50,000 a licence a year

  • Education pricing available
  • Free trial available

Service documents

Request an accessible format
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at andrew.smith@ics.ai. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 14

Service ID

7 7 7 9 7 6 0 4 6 5 3 4 3 5 8

Contact

ICS.AI LTD Andrew smith
Telephone: 01256 403800
Email: andrew.smith@ics.ai

Service scope

Software add-on or extension
Yes, but can also be used as a standalone service
What software services is the service an extension to
The following Microsoft licensing is required for the SMART AI assistants;
An Azure Subscription
Cloud deployment model
  • Public cloud
  • Private cloud
  • Hybrid cloud
Service constraints
The following Microsoft licensing is required for the SMART Hub (Corporate Comms); An Azure Subscription Optional SharePoint Online Plan 1 or Plan 2 Office 365 E1 or E3 or E5 Suite
System requirements
  • Windows Server 2022+
  • SQL Server (Std/Enterprise ) 2022+ / Azure SQL database
  • Microsoft .NET
  • Microsoft Azure & Cognitive Services
  • Microsoft Bing Services
  • Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB
  • Microsoft Power Automate
  • Microsoft Entra
  • Microsoft Azure Key Vault
  • Microsoft Teams

User support

Email or online ticketing support
Email or online ticketing
Support response times
The response time is either 24 hour or 72 hours, depending on the contract signed by the client and applies during working hours from Monday to Fridays
User can manage status and priority of support tickets
Yes
Online ticketing support accessibility
None or don’t know
Phone support
Yes
Phone support availability
9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
Web chat support
No
Onsite support
Yes, at extra cost
Support levels
The Support levels are as follows and the SLA for an Urgent issue is a fix or workaround within 24 hours or 72 hours, dependent on contract
1.Urgent - System not responding or critical function loss that affects all users
2. High - A function loss that causes significant disruption to business and users
3. Normal - Function loss that affects some users but will not stop them from being able to do other tasks
4. Low - A cosmetic issue or a minor function loss that affects some users
This service, up to an agreed number of hours per month is included in the cost of the Licence for the Citizen Services bot. Additional support hours can be purchased if required.
Support available to third parties
Yes

Onboarding and offboarding

Getting started
Through online training for power users
Service documentation
Yes
Documentation formats
  • PDF
  • Other
Other documentation formats
MS Word
End-of-contract data extraction
All user content is stored within the customers cloud environment
End-of-contract process
The software is decomissioned and product artifacts are removed from the customers Azure subscription and Office 365 tenant. No user content is affected.

Using the service

Web browser interface
Yes
Supported browsers
  • Internet Explorer 11
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari
  • Opera
Application to install
No
Designed for use on mobile devices
Yes
Differences between the mobile and desktop service
None
Service interface
No
User support accessibility
WCAG 2.1 AA or EN 301 549
API
No
Customisation available
Yes
Description of customisation
Developers can modify and extend the product using the administrative tools and SDK.

Scaling

Independence of resources
The service is installed either locally on premise or on dedicated cloud resources, for each individual customer. Service infrastructure is scaled according to customer requirements.

Analytics

Service usage metrics
Yes
Metrics types
Chat logs for all users are available including conversation data, searches and user selections.
Reporting types
Reports on request

Resellers

Supplier type
Not a reseller

Staff security

Staff security clearance
Other security clearance
Government security clearance
Up to Security Clearance (SC)

Asset protection

Knowledge of data storage and processing locations
Yes
Data storage and processing locations
  • United Kingdom
  • European Economic Area (EEA)
User control over data storage and processing locations
No
Datacentre security standards
Managed by a third party
Penetration testing frequency
At least once a year
Penetration testing approach
‘IT Health Check’ performed by a Tigerscheme qualified provider or a CREST-approved service provider
Protecting data at rest
  • Physical access control, complying with CSA CCM v3.0
  • Physical access control, complying with SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
  • Physical access control, complying with another standard
  • Encryption of all physical media
  • Other
Other data at rest protection approach
Azure provides physical access. No user content is stored within the SMART configuration database, all content is stored in client applications or in Office 365/SharePoint.
Data sanitisation process
No
Equipment disposal approach
A third-party destruction service

Data importing and exporting

Data export approach
Extraction not required, no customer data stored within product
Data export formats
Other
Other data export formats
Extraction not required, no customer data stored within product
Data import formats
Other
Other data import formats
Extraction not required, no customer data stored within product

Data-in-transit protection

Data protection between buyer and supplier networks
  • TLS (version 1.2 or above)
  • Legacy SSL and TLS (under version 1.2)
Data protection within supplier network
Other
Other protection within supplier network
No data is transferred from customer managed  networks

Availability and resilience

Guaranteed availability
Availability is governed by infrastructure design as part of a deployment project. Load balancing and DR options are available.
Approach to resilience
Client facing application can be hosted on multple servers and back end processes can be moved between servers in the event of a primary server outage
Outage reporting
Windows monitoring tools (System Centre, Nagios, etc) can be used to monitor service and report on outages

Identity and authentication

User authentication needed
No
Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels
Active Directory Users and Groups
Access restriction testing frequency
At least every 6 months
Management access authentication
  • Username or password
  • Other
Description of management access authentication
As the service is run from the clients Azure subscription, they have a choice as to which mechanism to use for management access. This can include 2 factor authentication with user name and password or other options such as Azure Vault

Audit information for users

Access to user activity audit information
Users have access to real-time audit information
How long user audit data is stored for
User-defined
Access to supplier activity audit information
Users have access to real-time audit information
How long supplier audit data is stored for
User-defined
How long system logs are stored for
User-defined

Standards and certifications

ISO/IEC 27001 certification
Yes
Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001
N/A hosted in Azure which is compliant
ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date
N/A hosted in Azure which is compliant
What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover
N/A hosted in Azure which is compliant
ISO 28000:2007 certification
Yes
Who accredited the ISO 28000:2007
N/A hosted in Azure which is compliant
ISO 28000:2007 accreditation date
N/A hosted in Azure which is compliant
What the ISO 28000:2007 doesn’t cover
N/A hosted in Azure which is compliant
CSA STAR certification
Yes
CSA STAR accreditation date
N/A hosted in Azure which is compliant
CSA STAR certification level
Level 5: CSA STAR Continuous Monitoring
What the CSA STAR doesn’t cover
N/A hosted in Azure which is compliant
PCI certification
Yes
Who accredited the PCI DSS certification
N/A hosted in Azure which is compliant
PCI DSS accreditation date
N/A hosted in Azure which is compliant
What the PCI DSS doesn’t cover
N/A hosted in Azure which is compliant
Cyber essentials
No
Cyber essentials plus
Yes
Other security certifications
No

Security governance

Named board-level person responsible for service security
Yes
Security governance certified
No
Security governance approach
Achieved by the responsible Director mandating & reviewing  organisation-wide information security policy that is supported by lower level security policies, procedures and guidelines (such as the information security, risk and compliance management structures, reporting lines, divisions of responsibility, delegated authorities and so forth).
Information security policies and processes
The Business Operations Director is responsible for setting and reviewing the following: Password Policy, Backup Policy, Network Access Policy, Remote Access Policy, Virtual Private Network (VPN) Policy, Guest Access Policy, Third Party Connection Policy, Network Security Policy, Mobile Device Policy, Retention Policy, Physical Security Policy, Email Policy

Operational security

Configuration and change management standard
Conforms to a recognised standard, for example CSA CCM v3.0 or SSAE-16 / ISAE 3402
Configuration and change management approach
The solution is deployed using a Continuous Integration /Continuous Deployment methodology which is part of the Azure DevOps Service. DevOps is the combination of cultural philosophies, practices, and tools that increases an organization's ability to deliver applications and services at high velocity: evolving and improving products at a faster pace than organizations using traditional software development and infrastructure management processes.
Vulnerability management type
Undisclosed
Vulnerability management approach
The SMART AI Service is hosted on servers within the customers network and we recommend that Windows Server security and hardening best practices are followed where applicable. The SMART AI Service requires authentication and any security vulnerabilities are patched as a priority once discovered. Penetration test can be arranged at the request of the customer.
Protective monitoring type
Supplier-defined controls
Protective monitoring approach
The SMART AI Service is hosted on servers in the customer network. The SMART Service requires authentication to access and through the use of web server logs and SMART Service logs patterns of inappropriate use can be identified. When an incident is reported ICS works with the customer to resolve the issue and update any configuration issues and will provide a patch or update where necessary. SMART AI security issues are logged as priority 1 calls are dealt using appropriate SLAs.
Incident management type
Supplier-defined controls
Incident management approach
The product support team follow defined processes around logging, assigning, escalating and resolving issues. Nominated service users can report issues via a dedicated web portal, email address or telephone number and are regularly informed of incident progress. Incident report updates are available via the web portal or by contacting the support team.

Secure development

Approach to secure software development best practice
Supplier-defined process

Public sector networks

Connection to public sector networks
No

Social Value

Social Value

Social Value

  • Fighting climate change
  • Covid-19 recovery
  • Tackling economic inequality
  • Equal opportunity
  • Wellbeing

Fighting climate change

Our SMART AI platform advances public sector efforts to combat climate change by reducing carbon footprints through digital transformation. By enabling 24/7 self-service and automating routine enquiries, our technology significantly reduces the need for physical infrastructure and associated energy consumption. This digital shift minimises the environmental impact of commuting and office operations, aligning with governmental targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Travelling to clients whilst implementing solutions is kept to the minimum and when travel is required the company policy is to use public transport. 90% of other interactions are exclusively online.

Covid-19 recovery

In the wake of COVID-19, our SMART AI platform plays a crucial role in the recovery process by supporting resilient and flexible public services. It alleviates pressure on front-line staff by providing robust self-service options across multiple channels, 24-7, allowing users to access services without physical interaction. This capability has been essential in maintaining service continuity during social distancing measures, enhancing the public sector's ability to adapt to similar future challenges efficiently. This has been repeated in other situations where inbound demand significantly increases for a period of time and the platform can deal with massive spikes. Post COVID-19 examples are the Ukraine refugee crisis and more recently the cost of living crisis.

Tackling economic inequality

Our SMART AI platform contributes to reducing economic inequality by democratising access to essential public services. By lowering operational costs through automation and AI-driven efficiencies, public sector organisations can reallocate funds to critical services and vulnerable communities. Additionally, our technology facilitates wider access to services, ensuring that economically disadvantaged groups receive timely and equal support, thus bridging the service gap across socioeconomic statuses. When working in different parts of the UK, our on site activities contribute to the local economy through the use of facilities such as local, hotel, restaurants and other local services when we are onsite.

Equal opportunity

To enhance equal opportunity, our SMART AI platform incorporates accessibility and inclusivity at its core. It adheres to WCAG 2.1 AA standards, ensuring that our digital services are usable by people with disabilities. We extend this commitment by supporting multiple languages, which not only aids non-native speakers but also fosters inclusivity in diverse demographic settings. This approach ensures that all community members have equitable access to public services, regardless of physical ability or language proficiency.

Wellbeing

Our platform enhances community wellbeing by offering round-the-clock access to public services, reducing stress and improving life quality for users. By automating routine tasks, we enable public sector organisations to focus more on personalised support where it matters most, improving overall service quality and user satisfaction. Additionally, the support for multiple languages and accessible interfaces ensures that all individuals, including those facing language barriers or disabilities, can engage with services comfortably and independently.

Pricing

Price
£50,000 a licence a year
Discount for educational organisations
Yes
Free trial available
Yes
Description of free trial
Limited period access to fully featured demo environment
Link to free trial
Environment provisioned per user

Service documents

Request an accessible format
If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at andrew.smith@ics.ai. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.