Aarhus Municipality is a dynamic local authority in Denmark, serving over 360,000 residents in 2024.
As part of the municipality, The Department of Social Affairs and Employment (MSB) focuses on social welfare and employment, collaborating with other departments, businesses, and civil society to promote inclusion and improve access to jobs and social support.
As a modern local authority, Aarhus Municipality wanted to ensure that public services kept pace with the digital advances seen elsewhere in society.
Troels Dahl Ranum, Digitalization Consultant, Digitalization, MSB, explains: “We talk a lot about digital maturity in our organization. The challenge so far has been that much of our digitalization is embedded in IT systems, making it invisible and difficult to relate to.” To bridge this gap, and inspired by other service avatar projects, Aarhus Municipality explored digital avatars to support the staffed front desk at Jobcenter Aarhus, aiming to create a more engaging and efficient service experience.
The vision took shape through an innovation pilot project launched in December 2023 in collaboration with NTT DATA Business Solutions. Together, they developed “Trothilde”, a digital receptionist designed to improve the user experience and free up resources for more complex tasks.
“Everything related to the public sector and our Jobcenter services is built on relationships. So, self-service isn’t always ideal. But by creating a more human-like digital service with Trothilde, we aimed to make digital interactions feel more natural and engaging,” says Troels Dahl Ranum.
Since going live in March 2024, Trothilde has been working as a digital avatar in Jobcenter Aarhus’ reception. Trothilde assists citizens with check-ins using their CPR number or health card, automatically notifying caseworkers—in full compliance with GDPR and approved by the Data Protection Officer (DPO) of Aarhus Municipality. She also provides information on job searches, welfare benefits, and practical matters such as parking and directions.
Unlike previous projects, this pilot was launched directly into operation, making it a true learning-by-doing process. Employees at the reception were involved from the start, providing feedback and shaping their digital colleague. This hands-on approach not only fostered engagement but also encouraged staff to explore new AI opportunities, strengthening their overall digital mindset.
“When the screen was set up, looking all ‘futuristic,’ something changed among the employees. They started asking, ‘Can she do this? What about that? Could she help with this too?’ That shift in mindset has been one of the greatest successes of this project,” says Mathilde Rud Simonsen, Digitalization Consultant at MSB.
Beyond shifting the organization’s way of thinking about the potential of digitalization, Aarhus Municipality gained valuable insights for their future work with AI. For instance, they discovered the importance of nudging, such as guiding footprints on the floor to direct citizens toward Trothilde. Additionally, they found that acoustic shielding was essential not only to improve interaction quality with Trothilde but also to create a more private and comfortable space for citizens during their engagement with her.
The biggest takeaway, however, was that Trothilde adds the most value through longer, in-depth conversations – something difficult to achieve in a busy reception area. To maximize her potential, Aarhus Municipality and NTT DATA Business Solutions are now planning to launch phase two, relocating Trothilde to a quieter setting in the job café.
Here, her ability to quickly scan job listings and provide tailored suggestions will make her a valuable resource, helping citizens refine CVs, prepare for interviews, and make productive use of waiting time.
Mathilde Rud Simonsen explains: “Trothilde can instantly scan large amounts of data and suggest relevant jobs – something that would take a caseworker much longer to do.” By shifting to this new role, Trothilde will enhance the quality of existing services, allowing both citizens and caseworkers to get more out of their time together.
With limited AI expertise at Aarhus Municipality, NTT DATA Business Solutions provided the necessary skills and experience, ensuring a smooth implementation and continuous optimization of the project.
NTT DATA Business Solutions had experience working with complex political organizations and understood the key factors to consider, such as GDPR. The collaboration was as a joint innovation project with shared goals, rather than just a technical delivery.
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