answers

Problem statement

Users struggle to find accurate and relevant answers due to:

• Complex and inconsistent website navigation – Websites use different structures, making it hard for users to find the information they need.

• Lengthy FAQs – FAQs are often long, making it difficult to locate specific details.

• Irrelevant search results – Basic keyword search often returns irrelevant results, requiring users to spend excessive time sorting through content.

• Generic responses – Chatbots and automated tools, despite high maintenance, offer generic, unhelpful answers that do little to enhance the user experience.

In addition, implementing and maintaining self-service solutions on the agency’s side is resource-intensive and costly.

Objectives and product goals

Our goal is to provide users with fast, accurate, and verified information exactly when they need it. By integrating our solution at key touchpoints, we ensure users receive the most relevant answers without the frustration of navigating complex websites or lengthy FAQs.

🎯 Get accurate answers

Our AI-powered search understands your questions and delivers relevant responses.

🚀 Find answers instantly

Skip the hassle of navigating complex websites—get the information you need in seconds.

✅ Trusted government sources

Get reliable information directly from official government sources.

Our Solution

An AI-powered answer engine that delivers fast and accurate responses to government queries. Try it out: https://answers.hack2025.gov.sg/

Key features

• AI-powered search engine: Understands user queries to provide relevant, precise, and accurate answers quickly

• Verified government sources: Integrates only trusted data from Isomer and AskGov, ensuring information is sourced exclusively from official government channels.

• Fact-checking capabilities: Provides in-line citations and clickable links to enable users to easily verify sources and ensure information accuracy.

• Follow-up question support: Displays related questions and input box for users to ask additional questions for more information

• Multi-format integration: Supports multiple formats including widget integration, and potentially summarised search results, text-to-speech phone calls, to provide users with flexible and accessible ways to interact with the platform.

• Multi-language support: Offers a multilingual interface to cater to a diverse user base, ensuring accessibility for all.

Research and approach

Week 1: Define the problem, scope the MVP, and conduct research

• Identify core user pain points in current information discovery process.

• Scope the MVP by prioritising features and selecting agencies:

  • Focus on a specific agency instead of a Whole-Of-Government (WOG) approach

  • Use Isomer and AskGov as primary data sources to ensure reliable information

  • Develop a standalone website instead of integrating directly into agencies’ website

• Research retrieval methods (RAG, embeddings, prompt tuning) for precise AI responses.

• Reach out to agencies for potential partnership and collaboration.

Week 2: Build MVP & start initial testing

• Build the first version with a search bar and results retrieval system.

• Review early design iterations, exploring ways to improve fact-checking behaviour (e.g., adding expandable snippet dropdowns for source verification).

• Compile a diverse set of sample questions to evaluate the accuracy and relevance of the outputs.

• Research techniques for evaluating AI-generated responses (e.g., precision, clarity).

Week 3: Refine MVP & collect qualitative feedback

• Experiment with different models, including Gemini, to evaluate the quality of responses.

• Expand the set of verified government sources by adding data from and converting PDF FAQs into structured AskGov data.

• Collect qualitative user feedback on the MVP’s outputs to refine accuracy and relevance.

• Update designs to include features for users to ask follow-up questions.

Week 4: Improve Accuracy & User Experience

• Conduct extensive testing on outputs to validate improvements.

• Refine AI responses by experimenting with different prompts to enhance accuracy, conciseness, and citation of reliable sources.

• Optimise for speed to ensure fast and efficient answers.

Week 5: Demo Preparation & Final Testing

• Share MVP for user testing and feedback on user experience and answer quality.

• Polish UI/UX features and refine animations in preparation for demo.

• Finalise the closers deck and prepare for demo day.

Next steps

The next phase involves rolling out the solution to real users on an agency’s platform, starting with Singpass and agencies on Isomer. We will convert the standalone website into a widget format and conduct an A/B test to gather real user feedback and insights. In parallel, we will pitch the solution to other agencies to gauge interest and potential adoption. Success will be measured through user engagement, feedback, and a reduction in customer support ticket volumes.

If the MVP proves successful, we will expand the rollout to additional agencies, driving wider adoption across the whole of government. Looking ahead, we will explore additional features—such as multi-language support, AI-powered search, text-to-speech audio options—to ensure the solution is accessible to all users, regardless of their tech-savviness, and provide a seamless experience across various touch points.

Reach out to us

Reach out to us via https://go.gov.sg/answers-hfpg-contact