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　(Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Osamu Hata; hereafter "WAP") is pleased to announce that Nagasaki Bus Corporation (hereafter "Nagasaki Bus") has officially introduced HUE Chatbot, an AI-type chatbot. Through the use of this product, HUE Chatbot will provide prompt answers to frequently asked questions from bus users regarding forgotten items, transfers, commuter pass purchases, etc., in order to improve services.

1. Aiming to improve customer service through the use of IT

Nagasaki Bus, which operates bus routes in and around Nagasaki City, has been considering the use of IT to expand and improve its services, and began test operation of the "HUE Chatbot" in March. The wide range of bus users and the fact that many of them are elderly were issues for the use of IT tools, but as a result of the trial operation, it was determined that a certain number of users could be expected to use the chatbot. The company has also renewed its website and bus search service, and expects to further improve the quality of customer service through the synergistic effect of the AI-type chatbot.
The chatbot, nicknamed "Korota," has been installed on the company's website, and users can enter questions they have about using buses through the "Ask Korota" link. They can either answer questions in one of four categories: "Search for bus times and fares," "Search for routes and times by entering destinations," "Commuter passes," or "Lost and found on buses," or they can freely enter their own questions to arrive at an answer. By utilizing this product, inquiries can be automatically responded to 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, allowing users to resolve their questions on the website.
Nagasaki Bus Website: https://www.nagasaki-bus.co.jp/bus/

Chatbot "Korota" on Nagasaki Bus website

2. Support digitalization and contribute to protecting "local transportation

According to a survey of 235 bus operators across Japan by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the business environment for operators is deteriorating due to a drop in revenues caused by a decline in population and a decrease in the number of passengers due to the impact of the new coronavirus The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has therefore decided to establish a new bus service provider network. Therefore, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is working to support operators in digitizing their operations to improve management efficiency and counter infectious diseases.

3. What is HUE Chatbot, utilizing NLP technology?

HUE chatbot is a Japanese language service that uses NLP (natural language processing HUE chatbot is an AI-type chatbot that responds to "fluctuations" in the Japanese language by applying NLP (natural language processing) technology. It enables highly accurate dialogue as if it were talking to a human being. Anyone can operate it intuitively, and its usage status and points for improvement are visualized on a dashboard.

Feature 1: Specializes in business content and enables highly satisfactory responses
In the case of general chatbots, the number of vocabulary words in the built-in dictionary is limited, and it is said that it is difficult to recognize unique words such as industry terms and technical terms. However, HUE chatbot can respond to a variety of industries and fields because even those without programming knowledge can register their own dictionaries anytime and as many times as they like from the administration screen. By specializing dictionaries according to the nature of your business, you will be able to provide answers that are highly satisfactory to those who inquire about your business.

Feature #2: Largest registered vocabulary in Japan, supports ambiguous questions
It is equipped with "SudachiDict," a natural language processing dictionary with the largest registered vocabulary in Japan at 2.9 million words (as of January 2023). It was developed by the Works Tokushima NLP Laboratory, which specializes in natural language processing (NLP) technology essential for AI-type chatbots, eliminating the need for users to register a large dictionary and reducing the number of FAQs to be prepared. It can also accurately determine the unique Japanese orthographical distortions and respond to ambiguous questions.

Image of dictionary registration of unique terms
By registering paraphrased expressions, they are understood as the same meaning.

Feature 3) Document search option added, eliminating the need to prepare FAQs

Upload files such as company rules and various manuals, and the AI can respond by referring to the uploaded files, eliminating the need to prepare FAQs itself and greatly improving operational efficiency.

Image of Document Search Option

Feature 4: Automatic FAQ generation in conjunction with ChatGPT, answering a wide range of questions

By using ChatGPT, you can create natural-looking FAQs from files of relevant documents such as manuals and company rules*1, as well as answer general questions not covered by FAQs. LLM's ChatGPT can generate the most appropriate answer from a vast amount of information.

*1:The ChatGPT integration function is a paid option.

HUE chatbot

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