Aida

Connecting with Carers

Supporting Carers with trusted information, advice & personalised services.

24/7 SUPPORT WHENEVER CARERS NEED IT

Carers can access trusted advice at any time through a dedicated website and an AI-powered digital assistant on WhatsApp, without needing to wait for office hours or referrals.

EVERYTHING STORED IN ONE PLACE

Carer Connect brings together local services, financial support, wellbeing advice, benefits information, community groups and practical guidance into a single, easy-to-use platform, reducing the need to search across multiple websites.

DESIGNED BY CARERS, FOR CARERS

The service has been co-produced with unpaid carers, ensuring the content, language and support reflect real-life caring experiences and the challenges carers face every day.

ACCESSIBLE, INCLUSIVE SUPPORT FOR EVERYONE

Available in multiple languages and via familiar channels such as WhatsApp, Carer Connect makes it easier for more carers to access information and support, helping reach those who may never have engaged with services before.

The Challenge

Across the UK, millions of unpaid carers provide vital support to family members and friends, often balancing caring responsibilities alongside work, education and their own wellbeing. Yet finding the right help can be difficult. Information is frequently spread across multiple websites and organisations, services are not always easy to navigate, and support is often only available during office hours.

Many carers do not identify themselves as carers until they reach crisis point, meaning they can miss out on financial assistance, practical advice and emotional support that could make a significant difference. Others simply don’t know where to start or struggle to access services in a way that fits around their daily lives.

Local authorities and carers’ organisations also face increasing demand, with limited resources to provide personalised support to everyone who needs it.

Carer Connect was created to address these challenges by providing a single, trusted digital front door that makes it easier for unpaid carers to find information, access local services and receive support whenever they need it.

 

Designed with listening first

Connecting with Carers was developed in partnership with unpaid carers, and local authorities. Throughout the design process, carers shared their experiences, challenges and priorities, helping shape everything from the information provided to the way conversations flow. The result is a service built around real lives, real needs and real experiences.

The Solution

Carer Connect is a digital support platform designed to make it easier for unpaid carers to access the information, services and guidance they need, whenever they need it. Combining a dedicated website with an AI-powered WhatsApp assistant, it provides 24/7 access to trusted, localised support in a simple and familiar way.

Bringing together advice, local services, financial support, wellbeing resources and community opportunities into one place, Carer Connect removes the frustration of searching across multiple organisations and websites. Users receive instant answers, personalised signposting and guidance tailored to their needs, while retaining the option to access human support where appropriate.

Co-designed with unpaid carers and built specifically for local authorities and carers’ organisations, Carer Connect helps extend the reach of existing services, improve accessibility through multilingual support, and reduce pressure on frontline teams by answering common questions outside of normal working hours.

The result is a more connected, inclusive and responsive support service that empowers carers to find help earlier, stay informed and feel supported throughout their caring journey.

 

What Carer’s Say

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Useful advice, a listening ear, no need to repeat yourself and provides chat 

Carer - Rotherham
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Very natural, I liked how the Dee was empathetic to the situation I am in 

User - Doncaster
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The conversation flowed really well, remembered previous points & checked back that all points were covered 

Carer - Sheffield
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I like that I have the option to go back and look at it at a later stage 

User - Barnsley

Key features

Allowing a conversation with your content

Your digital assistant allows users to have a conversation with your knowledge. A conversation in their language at a time that suits them.

Reassurance

Aida Connecting Carers comes with a host of guardrails and security built in to give you the reassurance that the advice offered is from trusted sources and delivered in the right tone.

Making the Complex, Simple

Allowing carers to interact with your content in their words means quicker, easier access to the right information.

A Member of your Team

Your digital assistant is an extended member of your information and advice team. Available 24/7, in any language and with no limits. It can also link conversations to any follow up interaction so a user has a joined up journey with your services.

Trackable Results

All conversations with your assistant are tracked allowing you to monitor and report on use. This can help inform decisions around missing knowledge as well as deliver insight on use – e.g. common needs, languages used, repeated usage.

Feedback Loops

Using channels such as WhatsApp, we can set up feedback loops to check in on users after their conversations. This can help you understand how well your digital assistant performed.

Client successes

Sophie - Sheffield Digital Assistant

Carer Connect has been developed to provide a single point of information and advice for unpaid carers in South Yorkshire. Co-designed with carers from across the region and delivered in partnership by Barnsley Council, City of Doncaster Council, Rotherham MBC and Sheffield City Council.

Barney - Barnsley Digital Assistant

Carer Connect has been developed to provide a single point of information and advice for unpaid carers in South Yorkshire. Co-designed with carers from across the region and delivered in partnership by Barnsley Council, City of Doncaster Council, Rotherham MBC and Sheffield City Council.

Dee - Doncaster Digital Assistant

Carer Connect has been developed to provide a single point of information and advice for unpaid carers in South Yorkshire. Co-designed with carers from across the region and delivered in partnership by Barnsley Council, City of Doncaster Council, Rotherham MBC and Sheffield City Council.

Robin - Rotherham Digital Assistant

Carer Connect has been developed to provide a single point of information and advice for unpaid carers in South Yorkshire. Co-designed with carers from across the region and delivered in partnership by Barnsley Council, City of Doncaster Council, Rotherham MBC and Sheffield City Council.

How it works

Aida: Connecting with Carers is designed for seamless deployment and intuitive use, ensuring maximum uptake by both councils and residents. It’s a standalone service with no reliance on existing infrastructure.

01

Knowledge Gathering

We’ll work with you to identify where your key knowledge resides, any directories you use. We run AI over this to summarise and categorise it to create our “locked box” of curated content.

02

Personalising your Assistant

We’ll give your digital assistant a name, personality, train it on any internal workflows or procedures it should know about. We’ll highlight any key contacts (e.g. safeguarding).

03

Channel Set Up

We’ll hook your assistant up to your desired channels for end users to interact with. This will likely be WhatsApp, a web widget, Facebook Messenger or SMS. You could offer the service on multiple channels

04

Testing & Refining

We’ll fully test your assistant with a mix of evaluation and red team testing. We’ll be testing for functional use and involving you with this, ensuring a confidence score you are happy with for launch. Alongside this we’ll try and “break” the assistant (red team testing) and offer evidence of this process.

05

Monitoring & Reporting

You’ll have full visibility on all the conversations happening with your digital assistant as well as instant alerts of any conversations triggering safeguarding concerns. Alongside this you’ll have overarching reporting that allows you to see a variety of stats around usage.

Secure data & Privacy

We build our solutions with the public sector’s critical needs for security and compliance at the forefront. Aida is underpinned by a robust, audited platform, ensuring trust and confidence from day one for your IT and Information Governance teams.

Visit our Trust Portal
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– Karen Hudson, Service Manager, Independence Advice Hub, Bradford Council

Ready to see the future of public service?

Get access to a demo to experience our secure AI solutions. You’ll get to see exactly how they work and choose which product you’d like to dive into.