Our Live Chat feature is the most direct and intuitive way homeless LGBTQ+ young people can access support from akt. Our dedicated Digital Casework team have supported thousands of young people online since 2020, providing housing information and support, referrals, resources and signposting.
But we know the risk of homelessness doesn’t just end when our team finishes their work day. The nature of homelessness means people may need to contact us out-of-hours, and we wanted to make sure there’s a way for them to access this in a way that accurately reflects the help that’s available and the support akt specifically can offer.
Why we have introduced an AI chatbot to our Live Chat to provide out of hours support
The development of AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology has accelerated over the past five years, and its use is now reaching every corner of society. From healthcare to the government, to manufacturing and international policy, it has become apparent that we can no longer ignore AI. Charities across the sector have been coming together to discuss the impact of AI and sharing ways in which we can harness the technology for positive benefits. We believe that learning to use AI in an ethical way provides opportunities for charities to provide better services to young people and responsible AI use will influence policy and strategy in the UK.
At akt we recognise the apprehension that some people may feel about increased usage of AI, its environmental impact, digital rights, or the fear it may one day replace human interaction. We have created a plan, informed by young people’s feedback, to explain why we’ve chosen to implement a chatbot to provide out of hours support, and how we’re trying to do this as responsibly as possible.
We have introduced an AI chat bot within our existing Live Chat platform, that will be activated solely outside of our regular opening hours to support young people who reach out to us when we aren’t available. During the financial year 2025-2026, approximately 43% of users who came to our live chat accessed it for the first time whilst we were closed. From this, we identified a need to provide more substantial support to Live Chat users who may need urgent support when we’re not available, such as people who haven’t found accommodation that night, or people who may only be able to access the internet freely at night or over the weekend.
What the bot can & can’t do
The chat bot has been developed to provide tailored out-of-hours guidance to young people, but there are limitations to what this project can provide. The bot is only designed to provide information, advice, and guidance to people in need of urgent support that can’t wait until we reopen – people who need further advice, or non-urgent support will be encouraged to come back during opening hours to speak to one of our caseworkers instead. If someone is in immediate danger, they will be advised to contact emergency services.
How the bot works
When first accessing Live Chat out of our opening hours, users will be directed to an automatic process, to help us determine who they are (e.g. an LGBTQ+ young person, or a professional) and what support they need. Only users who identify that they are in urgent need of assistance will be directed to the AI chatbot. We also recognise that not everybody may want to engage with an AI bot, so it is completely optional to engage with the bot or not. Anyone who chooses not to engage with the AI bot will be directed to basic emergency signposting information and advised to leave a message for one of our caseworkers to respond to when we reopen. All users who wish to access the bot will be required to enter their email address, so we can follow up and check in with them the next working day. If a user wishes to remain anonymous, they can decline to access the bot and can receive the basic signposting information instead.
Previously, people who visited Live Chat out of our opening hours were given basic signposting information for who to contact in an emergency, but we weren’t able to make this information tailored to the user’s situation. The AI bot is able to provide a more tailored, targeted and specific signposting service, that will pull information exclusively from a library of articles written by our Digital Casework team. These articles contain a wider variety of information, advice, and guidance so that the AI bot can pull specific information, advice and guidance based on the needs of the individual Live Chat user.
We are committed to being transparent about our use of AI – we anticipate that over time as technology develops that this project will inevitably develop alongside it, and we aim to be as transparent as possible along the way. All messages and interactions with the bot will be reviewed by our Digital Casework team at the start of the next working day and staff will reach out to see if they’d like to continue chatting with a caseworker or if they need any follow up support. We will be reviewing any feedback we receive about the bot, and our use of AI will be centred around young people’s needs and wants. After consultation with our Youth Voice group we decided that the bot should send concise messages, with a warm but professional tone.
Ethical & Environmental considerations
We have carefully considered the ethical implications of introducing an AI bot. Following consultation with our Youth Voice group, and a survey we sent out to the public last year, the main ethical concerns raised were around bias of generative AI bots, AI replacing human workers, environmental concerns, and the inefficiency of AI bots generally making things more confusing. We aim to address these concerns below.
Bias
In order to reduce the risk of prejudiced or biased answers, our AI bot can only pull information from specific articles that have been written by our Digital Casework team at akt. This means that all information comes directly from akt’s caseworkers.
Concerns of replacing human jobs
The AI bot will only be active outside of our usual opening hours to provide some basic support in addition to (not instead of) our day-to-day work – our Live Chat service will be continuing as normal, and if you visit during our opening hours (10-4:30 Monday-Thursday and 10-3 Fridays) you’ll be connected with an akt caseworker.
Inefficiency of AI bots in general
The bot is designed to provide urgent, out of hours support only – we have designed the bot to provide concise information in simple and accessible language, to make things as simple as possible for someone who needs urgent support but doesn’t know where to start. Use of the bot is intended to be short, and throughout our testing process has proved to be efficient. As stated above too, the bot can only give information directly from articles written by akt’s Digital Casework team. We expect that the bot’s effectiveness will also increase over time, guided by its use from young people and the feedback they provide. The bot has been tested with current or former akt young people, through our Youth Voice Project, and we will continue to involve them in its development and implementation.
Environmental considerations
We also recognise the environmental impacts of AI use. To minimise unnecessary usage, the bot is limited to out-of-hours use and is only accessible to those who need urgent support. We believe this focused approach balances the considerations raised by staff and young people, with the necessity of providing support to those who need it the most.
GDPR
We will handle all data in accordance with GDPR. To find out more about how we use and protect your information please read our Privacy Policy.
Safeguarding
All messages sent to the bot will be reviewed the next working day by one of our caseworkers, to ensure we handle any necessary safeguarding issues that may arise. If anyone is at immediate risk of harm, they should call 999. If you would like more information, please check out our Safeguarding policies here: All policies – akt
akt is committed to maintaining our quality of service and increasing the number of young people who can safely access our support, as part of our strategy over the next five years. With your support, we’re working towards a world where we can not only end LGBTQ+ youth homelessness, but prevent it – by getting young people the help they need, when they need it.