Monmouthshire County Council offers a range of channels for people to choose from to get in touch – from face to face, phone based or digital channels including the website, social media, via the ‘My Monmouthshire’ app or by speaking to Monty, Monmouthshire County Council’s chatbot which can be accessed via Facebook Messenger or Monmouthshire County Council’s website.

Monty provides instant answers to a variety of questions that residents pose around the clock, seven days a week. Monty is constantly being updated and includes responses to waste and recycling e.g. ‘when is my bin day’, school information e.g. ‘what is for lunch in school today’, highways queries e.g. ‘how can I report a pothole’ and other key services. Monmouthshire County Council works with South Wales tech company We Build Bots to develop Monty. Monty has approximately 9,000 users.

A spokesperson for the council said: “Thousands of customers are contacting Monty to get answers and information to some of the most common questions in an easy and accessible way. We were the first local authority to launch a Welsh speaking chatbot, so Monty responds to people in both English and Welsh. We are excited to be constantly developing Monty to provide more and more answers to the questions residents pose. We are also looking to provide further improvements to increase self-service for our residents. This is about augmenting the human and not replacing.  If the chatbot is unable to provide answers to simple questions, the service directs residents to our contact centre where they will speak directly to one of the team during office hours. Monty is one of the many ways that we are constantly improving customer experience to our customers by providing a different way for people to engage with their local council.”

Find out more in the videos below

Using Monty on our Website:

Using Monty on Facebook Messenger:

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