AI assistant ELKI helps with questions about parental allowance & co.
With "ELKI", the pme Familienservice presents its first self-developed AI assistant and thus specifically supplements its personal advisory services with AI-based info chats.
Whether pregnancy, parental leave or parental allowance: ELKI provides precise answers to the most important questions on these topics and thus relieves HR managers, executives and employees.
In this interview, we talk to Katharina Opper, pme Project Manager AI, and Tamara Trinkl, pme Product Manager Parent & Child, about the development of the AI assistant, the possible applications and the advantages and current limitations of AI-supported interactions with our customers.
How did you come to develop your own AI assistant and how did you go about it?
Katharina Opper: The development of our AI assistant ELKI was born out of a clear need: parents need quick and uncomplicated individualized information on parental leave, parental allowance and maternity leave - exactly when questions arise.
During development, we were able to draw on our extensive, constantly updated knowledge database. In close cooperation between the specialist department and the AI team, we trained ELKI to provide precise, comprehensible answers in dialog. Unlike conventional AI systems, we focus on the quality of the answers. Instead of long lists of information, you receive short, focused explanations. Continuous quality management ensures that we recognize potential errors and constantly improve ELKI.
What was important when creating the bot?
Katharina: The ELKI AI assistant has clearly defined tasks. Easy accessibility was a particular focus of development. ELKI is available in German and English and can flexibly use other languages during conversations. This means that the information is conveyed clearly and to the point.
Tamara Trinkl: With ELKI, we offer an efficient, reliable and approachable service that saves time and at the same time makes it easier to get personal advice. It was also important to us that ELKI takes the personal concerns of our customers into account as far as possible when answering their questions and can offer various solutions that are optimally tailored to the respective life situation. This creates an individual and helpful guide through the complex legal issues.
Which topics exactly does ELKI support?
Katharina: ELKI specializes in the core topics of maternity protection, maternity pay, parental leave and parental allowance. The AI assistant answers basic questions such as protection periods for maternity protection, distribution of parental leave or various parental allowance options. Communication takes place in direct dialog so that individually relevant information can be found quickly.
ELKI provides support in these areas:
- Maternity protection and maternity benefit: e.g. calculating the amount of maternity benefit, periods of protection before and after the birth, questions about working hours during pregnancy
- Parental leave: statutory entitlement, parental leave periods, application deadlines, part-time parental leave
- Parental allowance: e.g. basic, plus and partner months, calculation basis, distribution of parental allowance months
What makes ELKI special and what kind of support does it provide?
Katharina: The particular strength of ELKI lies in its immediate, low-threshold support around the clock. The AI assistant provides focused answers and, if necessary, directs you to specialized tools or personal advice, for example for more complex calculations or very individual constellations.
Tamara: At ELKI, the focus is on the needs of customers, i.e. getting information that is clear and understandable regardless of time and place - so no "officialese".
That's what ELKI is all about:
1. independence of time and place: customers can access the bot at any time, regardless of opening hours or their location.
2. clarity and comprehensibility: The bot answers questions about maternity protection, parental leave and parental allowance in clear, understandable language.
3. individual solutions: The bot takes personal concerns into account and offers solutions or guidance based on the information entered.
4. making appointments directly: For matters that go beyond the scope of the bot, customers can make an appointment directly with our specialist advisors. This ensures access to personal advice at all times.
Does ELKI replace or supplement certain advisory services offered by the pme Familienservice?
Katharina: ELKI complements the existing advice service as a first point of contact. The AI assistant provides a quick introduction to the topic and can clarify many basic questions directly. Personal advice is still available for more in-depth or complex issues.
In which situations can parents particularly benefit from the AI assistant?
Katharina: The AI assistant is particularly valuable in the initial orientation phase. Expectant parents can obtain information at any time, clarify initial questions and gain an overview of their options. The round-the-clock availability makes it possible to obtain information when it is needed.
How was the bot trained on the specific topics of maternity protection, parental leave and parental allowance?
Katharina: The ELKI training is based on a hybrid approach. A comprehensive catalog of knowledge on maternity protection, maternity pay, parental leave and parental allowance forms the basis. For more specific concerns, ELKI makes a special difference: the AI assistant recognizes when personal specialist advice might be useful and enables a seamless transition. This integrative advice service combines the best of both worlds: immediate information and sound specialist advice from our experts .
Tamara: We went through a multi-stage development process. This involved integrating legal principles, statutory regulations and specialist literature. Our specialist consultants have enriched this information based on typical customer inquiries and added practical answers. ELKI was specifically trained using prompts in the form of realistic scenarios and questions that frequently arise in consulting.
How is it ensured that the information is up-to-date and correct?
Tamara: ELKI is regularly reviewed and updated as necessary to take account of changes in legislation or new issues. User feedback also plays an important role here. I see the big advantage of ELKI in the fact that we can make changes quickly and easily via the prompt.
What are the advantages for employers if employees can use the bot?
1. relief from queries and support: the bot relieves employers of some of the responsibility by providing employees with competent support for common questions. This means fewer queries to HR departments or managers. Employees can access the bot directly and receive quick, precise answers - even outside working hours.
2. promotion of transparency and clarity: ELKI explains legal regulations clearly and comprehensibly. This ensures that employees are better informed and can understand their rights and obligations without needing additional support from their employers.
3. time savings for all parties involved: By providing employees with essential information in advance via ELKI, the effort required by employers to clarify individual cases is significantly reduced. At the same time, employees can independently arrange appointments with specialist advisors if they have further questions.
4. positive employer image: The provision of a modern and supportive tool such as ELKI contributes to a positive perception of the employer brand and strengthens employee loyalty to the company.
5. better work-life balance: ELKI helps employees to better prepare for personal and family challenges such as parental leave or maternity leave. Employers benefit when employees are well informed and organized - this makes planning easier and avoids misunderstandings.
Is ELKI data protection compliant?
Katharina: The technical implementation follows the highest data protection standards in accordance with the GDPR. All user data is processed exclusively within the EU and is not used for AI training. All data processed in the chat is used exclusively to process customer requests and is treated in strict confidence. This was a basic requirement for the use of AI at pme.
Are there feedback options?
Katharina: Yes, there is one. A feedback function is integrated into the chat window. This feedback is valuable for us to continuously improve ELKI and tailor it even better to the needs of our customers.
Tamara: Customers can also give their feedback directly to our specialist consultants, who pass it on to the development team. The collected feedback is evaluated regularly.
Are further functions or extensions planned for the future?
Katharina: ELKI is just the beginning for us. We are already working on other AI assistants, but we will only make them available as soon as we are convinced of the interaction and response quality and they offer clear added value for our customers.
Employees of our client companies with a corresponding contract can use our AI assistant ELKI in the My Familienservice portal.
You are not yet a customer of pme Familienservice? Please contact us!
Maternity protection, child benefit & co.: the pme parent advice service
Our parent counselors support parents in all matters from pregnancy to the child's adulthood. Personal and confidential: we are there for you online, by phone or on site. You can find more information about our parent counseling services here.
