The council said it was the first UK local authority to replace its main switchboard with a “digital front door”.
Residents are directed to Darcie for the council’s customer service centre – which handled about 26,000 calls in March this year – and to Ali for Derby Homes’ housing inquiries. Together, the two systems have handled more than 3.2 million routine inquiries since their launch.
The council’s wider AI programme has identified over £12m in savings across the authority, half of which come from adult care.
The leader of the Derby Conservatives, Steve Hassall, said that most residents wanted to speak to an “actual human”.
“For many Derby residents, trying to contact the council has never felt more frustrating, more impersonal or more inaccessible”, he said.
“For elderly residents, those without strong digital skills, vulnerable people, or anyone facing urgent and complex problems, this so-called ‘digital front door’ can feel more like a digital barrier.
“Has this programme genuinely improved customer service, or has it primarily become a cost-cutting exercise dressed up as innovation?”