The new servizz.gov portal represents a major overhaul in how citizens access government services, moving away from a traditional department-based model towards one centred around people's real-life situations.

Servizz.gov CEO Massimo Vella said the upgraded platform introduces a "life events" approach, allowing users to find services based on experiences such as becoming a parent, starting work or owning a home, while also introducing an AI-powered chatbot designed to answer queries using official government information.

Speaking to The Malta Independent on Sunday, Vella said that the new servizz.gov portal marks a major shift in service delivery. The portal received a significant upgrade from the previous version, moving beyond a simple directory of government services. The biggest innovation was organising services around major life events (avvenimenti tal-ħajja) rather than only by government department or sector. This reflects how citizens actually look for services. Through this system, the portal aims to help users find the right service based on their circumstances instead of requiring them to know which department provides it.

Vella explained that through the portal, there are three ways for users to find services. Users can browse by service list (the traditional approach), by sector (such as education, tax, employment, social security, and so on), and by life event. Instead of searching multiple departments, users can access all relevant services in one place. For example, selecting "owning a house" would lead users to grants such as that of reverse osmosis and solar panels. Likewise, "becoming a parent" groups childcare, maternity leave, and other child-related services.

The new portal also includes an upgraded chatbot that uses generative AI to answer users' questions conversationally. It replaced the previous version with a more advanced AI-based system. Rather than relying on open internet information, the chatbot only retrieves information from department-specific knowledge bases. The aim is to minimise AI "hallucinations" and ensure citizens receive accurate government information. Under the previous system, around 70% of conversations had to be escalated to a live agent. With the new AI chatbot, 68% of queries are now resolved by the chatbot itself, leaving only 32% requiring escalation.

The new portal recorded around 300,000 visits in its first month. By comparison, the previous portal received about 800,000 visits over the entire previous year. This indicates a significant increase in public engagement. It is also worth noting that digital channels now account for about half of public interactions. Servizz.gov handled 2.5 million public interactions last year, with roughly half taking place through digital channels such as the portal, chatbot, and email.

Asked about how the system could be improved, Vella revealed that servizz.gov will soon introduce multi-stage customer feedback. Citizens will thus soon be able to rate services both when they submit an application and after they receive the service. This is a significant change from the current system, which only collects feedback after service delivery. Collecting feedback at different stages will help identify where problems occur in the customer journey. It aims to distinguish between issues with the application process and issues with the final delivery of the service.

Despite all of these digital improvements, Vella said that servizz.gov remains committed to face-to-face and live-agent support, particularly for citizens who need it. Digitalisation is thus not intended to reduce public sector staffing. Vella said there is no direct link between expanding online services and reducing employee numbers. Servizz.gov's objective is to make public services "simpler, clearer and closer" to citizens. The focus is on improving customer experience rather than workforce reductions. Digital services are intended to complement, not replace, traditional services. That being said, Vella said that digital tools can improve efficiency through better process modelling.

One thing that has expanded servizz.gov's customer base is population growth. Vella said Malta's population increase has led to a broader range of queries handled by servizz.gov. The agency is no longer primarily dealing with Maltese citizens but increasingly with EU nationals and third-country nationals. The rise in expatriate residents has created additional demand, particularly around immigration-related services. A key example is servizz.gov administering single permits on behalf of Identità, making it a point of contact for foreign workers.

"We have to cater for new realities," Vella said.

Asked to give a breakdown of the past five years regarding the number of service requests, Vella estimated that the Freephone 153 received around 5 million calls over that timespan. This shows sustained demand for government assistance channels. Freephone remains one of the main ways citizens access government services. Vella stressed that 153 is a free service for the public, positioning it as a key accessibility channel despite increased digitalisation.

With regards to the agency's other channels, the regional hubs saw 350,000 visitors in the past year, 80,000 chatbot users, 130,000 email queries, and 40,000 calls to Freephone 138 (Occupational Health and Safety and Building Construction Authority services). Regional hubs remain a major part of service delivery, with servizz.gov operating 26 regional hubs. Twenty-four of these offer general services, while two are specialised in education services and taxpayer services respectively. Emails and other requests are automatically entered into a Customer Relationship Management system. Queries can be tracked by agents and escalated to the relevant government departments when necessary.

Despite Malta's increasingly international population, Vella said there are no immediate plans to introduce additional languages to servizz.gov's services. The website, Freephone 153 and the chatbot are all available bilingually in Maltese and English. The portal defaults to Maltese, with users able to switch to English. According to Vella, 82% of users choose Maltese when interacting with servizz.gov channels. The chatbot includes a language processor capable of interpreting Maltese, including grammar, and responding in Maltese.