[Karuizawa Town] Launches 'Smart Public Lab AI Concierge,' an AI chatbot for residents

The 'Smart Public Lab AI Concierge' is a service that accepts questions and inquiries from residents and responds using AI. This system receives inquiries and quickly retrieves necessary information using Azure AI Search and Google Custom Search. It then generates answers in natural language through the Azure OpenAI Service. This allows residents to receive prompt and accurate support 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The service can be accessed by clicking the icon at the bottom right of the Karuizawa Town website or by launching it from the 'Karu-Navi AI' option in the rich menu of the town's official LINE account. The purpose of the introduction is to speed up resident services, reduce the administrative burden on staff, and grasp resident needs through data utilization to improve services. We plan to continue expanding this to other local governments and working with municipalities that aim to improve resident services.