Chatbots are playing an important role in sharing awareness about COVID-19 via messaging apps.
However, countries in the Global South with a high proportion of bottom-of-the-pyramid citizens are left out from this service for two key reasons: native languages are not supported and/or these chatbots require messaging apps on smartphones.
To expand service, Proto rapidly developed a COVID-19 education chatbot compatible with SMS feature-phones, in addition to popular messaging apps. The chatbot currently offers localized Natural Language Understanding for Swahili, Igbo, Yoruba, French, Arabic, Malay and Tagalog.
If you represent a healthcare provider in the Global South that requires this free service, please contact Curtis Matlock at curtis@proto.cx.
