Whatsapp chatbot News

WhatsApp has restricted message forwarding to five in India to limit virality especially for contentious content.

In March 2020, this chatbot was unveiled to destroy COVID-related misinformation and find useful services for citizens. Available on WhatsApp, users can talk in the Hindi language too. In May, the platform added a new feature to help in finding the nearest vaccine and test centers directly on the Facebook-owned messaging platform.

The WhatsApp API based helpline was launched as a free to use service for citizens of Kolkata. Drive-In Vaccination was also introduced through this WhatsApp Bot to felicitate vaccination in four-wheelers only, helping many aged and ailing citizens. The chatbot has helped smoothen the vaccine appointment booking process and reduced waiting time for citizens at vaccination centres.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp head Will Cathcart tweeted in support of Indians and said that the messaging platform has partnered with health workers to operate helplines in the form of chatbots on the app. One of them is the MyGov Corona Helpdesk chatbot, which was unveiled in 2021 has now been updated to help you find a vaccination center. There is an alternate way also as users can also visit wa.me/919013151515 which will take them directly to the chatbot.

The official WhatsApp chatbot by the Ministry of Health and MyGov, developed by artificial intelligence-focussed start-up Haptik, was made available to all WhatsApp users for free in English and Hindi languages. To contact the helpline, citizens were required to save the WhatsApp number +91 9013151515 on their phones, and then start a chat by typing "Hi" and sending it to the number. Depending on the question, users were provided verified and real-time information in the form of a video, infographic or text.

This new initiative by the Centre will also create awareness among the citizens about the preventive measures that could save them from falling prey to the highly contagious virus.