Designing a chatbot that guides newcomers, students, and families to the services they need in any language, at the moment they need it.
When a crisis hits, the last thing someone needs is five government websites in a second language. A newcomer navigating IRCC queries for the first time. A student trying to figure out bus routes in an unfamiliar city. A family looking for emergency shelter on a Tuesday night.
The information exists across dozens of portals. Getting to it is a completely different story. The question was not whether we could build a chatbot. It was whether we could build one that actually worked for the people who needed it most.
This tool was designed for people navigating unfamiliar systems, often under pressure, often in a language that is not their first.
Navigating IRCC, settlement services, and legal aid for the first time in a new country.
Looking for bus routes, food programs, and community resources in an unfamiliar city.
Urgently searching for emergency shelter, food access, or financial assistance.
Conducted across diverse user groups in the City of Toronto before any design decisions were made.
Before touching the interface, I ran 100 surveys to understand how people currently find community services. A few things became clear very quickly.
Most people had no idea which organisation to contact first. Non-native speakers reported feeling completely lost on government portals. Emergency users gave up after two or three failed attempts. And elderly and low-literacy users relied entirely on word of mouth rather than any digital tool.
These were not usability problems. They were access problems. The chatbot needed to do the navigation work so users did not have to.
An emergency user needed shelter that night. Instead of help, they got questions. Four of them. Before a single useful answer appeared.
Many queries returned a vague message about connecting to a resource, with no link, no phone number, and nothing to act on.
The system treated a crisis the same as a casual query. It could not tell urgent from exploratory, or emergency from curiosity.
Both got the exact same reply
If someone's phrasing signalled a crisis, they received a direct answer before being asked anything. That single shift eliminated the loop entirely.
| Category | What it means | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Immediate Emergency | Life or safety at risk right now | Helpline number instantly with zero follow-up questions |
| Chatbot-Assisted Emergency | Urgent but not life-threatening | Two-step response with direct resource links |
| Borderline Clarification | Needs one question to narrow down | One short question, then a direct resource |
| General Support | Exploratory, not urgent | Full guided conversation |
Before this project, the chatbot worked in English only. For newcomers and immigrants, that was a barrier before the conversation even started.
After integrating GPT-4, users can type in any language they are comfortable with. The chatbot understands and responds in kind. For someone navigating IRCC queries or looking for settlement services for the first time, this is not a small feature. It is the whole point.