Bradford Council’s Adult Social Care front door was under increasing pressure. Residents often contacted the service for information that could be accessed more quickly elsewhere, while navigating complex guidance during stressful situations. In one of the UK’s most linguistically diverse cities, with more than 150 languages spoken, ensuring information was accessible to everyone presented an additional challenge.

To improve access and reduce pressure on frontline teams, Bradford Council introduced Annie, their AI-powered Adult Social Care assistant, built on the Aida platform

The Challenge

Making Adult Social Care easier to access

Adult Social Care information can be difficult to navigate, particularly when people are worried about themselves or someone they care for. Many enquiries reaching Bradford’s front door involved signposting or guidance that residents could have found independently if information had been easier to access.

The council wanted to:

• Improve access to trusted Adult Social Care information
• Support residents outside normal office hours
• Reduce unnecessary demand on frontline teams
• Provide support in multiple languages
• Ensure people experiencing safeguarding concerns could still be identified and escalated appropriately

The Solution

Annie: Bradford’s 24/7 Adult Social Care assistant

Bradford Council worked alongside Bullet AI to develop Annie, a conversational AI assistant available through both the council website and WhatsApp.

Built using Bradford’s own approved Adult Social Care content, Annie provides residents with accurate, consistent and personalised guidance whenever they need it. Whether someone is looking for information about care assessments, disability support, carers’ services or community resources, Annie helps people find the right information quickly while signposting them to the most appropriate services.

Alongside providing information, Annie continuously assesses conversations for potential safeguarding concerns, ensuring people in crisis can be directed to emergency support without delay.

Developed through close collaboration with Bradford Council, Annie forms part of the wider Aida family of digital assistants, co-designed with local authorities including Norfolk County Council and West Northamptonshire Council.

Helping people help themselves

Almost two thirds of conversations (62%) were successfully resolved through self-service and signposting, enabling residents to access the information they needed without contacting frontline teams.

Across all conversations, Annie delivered more than 5,400 personalised signposts, directing people to the most appropriate services, including Bradford’s Adult Social Care contact forms, Connect to Support Bradford and the Independence Advice Hub.

Supporting residents whenever they need help

Demand hasn’t been limited to office hours.

Nearly one in four conversations (23%) take place during evenings and weekends, giving residents access to trusted information at times when traditional services may not be available.

Friday is the busiest day for conversations, with 11am the most active time, demonstrating Annie’s ability to support people throughout the working week while extending access beyond it.

Reaching Bradford’s diverse communities

Supporting Bradford’s multilingual population was a key objective from the outset.

So far, Annie has supported conversations in 20 different languages, making Adult Social Care information more accessible to residents who may otherwise face barriers when seeking support.

Among users whose role could be identified:

• Individuals seeking support for themselves represented the largest group.
• Unpaid carers formed the second largest user group.
• Professionals, neighbours and advocates also regularly accessed Annie for guidance.

Importantly, 42% of identified users were flagged as vulnerable, highlighting Annie’s role in supporting people with more complex needs.

Navigating complex Adult Social Care enquiries

Analysis of conversations shows Annie is helping residents understand some of Adult Social Care’s most complex topics.

The most common enquiries relate to:

• Care Assessments and Eligibility
• Adult Social Care navigation
• Disability support
• Practical support
• Crisis support

Conversation analysis has also identified opportunities for continuous improvement, with a relatively small number of conversations highlighting areas where additional content could further improve residents’ experience.

Supporting safeguarding in real time

Annie has already demonstrated the value of AI in identifying potential safeguarding concerns.

During the reporting period, Annie shared 136 crisis contacts where immediate support or emergency guidance was required.

Anonymised “Golden Stories” show Annie recognising signs of domestic abuse, welfare concerns and people experiencing crisis, providing immediate guidance while directing individuals to the appropriate emergency services and specialist teams.

Among those who provided feedback following crisis conversations, 83% reported a positive experience.

Looking Ahead

Bradford Council continues to build on Annie’s success, using conversation insight to improve both the digital assistant and the wider Adult Social Care service.

Future priorities include:

• Expanding multilingual engagement across more of Bradford’s communities.
• Continuing to strengthen safeguarding and crisis response.
• Using conversation insights to improve and expand trusted content.
• Increasing out-of-hours engagement.
• Sharing learning across the wider Aida programme with partner councils.