Journal of AI-Driven Communication Engineering

Special Issue: Artificial Intelligence Across the Communication Stack: Engineering, Human Interaction, and Governance in the 6G Era

Vol. 2 (2026)

Conversational AI in Public Service Delivery: Trust, Accessibility, Accountability, and the Communication Imperative in Citizen–Institution Interaction

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31875/2979-1081.2026.02.10
Submitted
July 5, 2026
Published
2026-07-05

Abstract

Public institutions are among the most consequential contexts for the deployment of conversational artificial intelligence. When AI systems mediate communication between citizens and government employment agencies, healthcare providers, social welfare offices, and administrative bodies, the stakes of miscalibrated trust, inadequate interpretability, and poor interaction efficiency extend beyond individual user experience to include access to rights, benefits, and services. This paper examines the specific challenges and opportunities of deploying conversational AI in public service communication contexts and develops the Public Service Conversational AI (PSCAI) framework as both a conceptual and an implementation-oriented model. The revised framework links citizen-facing dialogue interfaces to authoritative knowledge bases, case-management systems, human escalation pathways, audit logs, and continuous feedback mechanisms. It further provides practical guidance for applying the framework in real government service environments such as employment services, welfare benefit guidance, healthcare administration, and municipal service portals. We argue that public sector conversational AI requires a fundamentally different design philosophy from commercial AI: one centered on institutional accountability, citizen dignity, legal accuracy, equitable access, and appealable human oversight rather than pure efficiency optimization.

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