Our new AI Assistant 'Pete' is available on our website for live customer testing. Between July and September 2025 we will be monitoring and tweaking the functionality as well as Pete also learning himself before official launch.
During this trial period, transferring to our contact centre will put you in the same queue as those calling us, and your messages will be answered in turn. In future chats may become separate.
We have not replaced any current functionality and using our AI assistant is an optional extra. Future phases will focus on the refinement of the customer experience alongside other site functions.
How to use Pete
Pete can be found by clicking the speech icon at the bottom right of your screen (browser window).
- Open the chat interface by clicking the button found at the bottom-right hand side of your screen.
- You can then type in a question to ask Pete.
- To clear your chat history and start again with a new question, click the 'END CHAT' button.
- During the conversation use the YES and No options between appending to an existing question.
- If Peter is unable to help, after a few tries, he will transfer you to a human agent. You can also request to 'speak to an agent' by typing this during the chat.
To get the best out of Pete, ask him questions, but don’t make them too long. Try not to personalise the question. If you don't get the answer you're looking for, try re-phrasing the question. For example:
- "How do I apply for Free School Meals?"
- "How do I report a pothole?"
- "Where can I visit to pay my council tax?"
- "How do I bid for a council flat?"
- "What are the rules for applying for a primary school place?"
If you prefer just to find a page - you can still use our traditional keyword at the top of each page. For example 'School meals', 'potholes' and then select from the results.
What not to ask Pete
Pete only has access to information on www.peterborough.gov.uk, he cannot tell you about the wider world.
Pete cannot answer questions where the content is on another website we manage - for example SEND and Adult Social care information is on our Peterborough Information Network site. In the future we will merge/improve content, or increase the knowledge base.
Pete cannot access our supporting applications and customer portals. So cannot answer questions like have I paid my direct debit this month, or how much do I owe.
Why are we using an AI assistant
Pete continually learns and improves how to answer your questions. The range of subjects and knowledge will also increase over time. Pete aims to:
- Answer frequently asked questions
- Provide information quickly and efficiently
- Provide a summary and then a link to the page for more detail
- Enhance user engagement and support
- Escalate complex queries to live agents
- Reduce telephone call waiting times
- Provide an alternative to traditional keyword search, and result pages.