AI Chatbot for Public FAQ on Facebook Messenger

Inform

What it collects that can identify you

About behaviour

Identifiable data

Text messages and questions submitted by users through Facebook Messenger, including their queries and conversational inputs. These messages are tied to users' Facebook accounts and are therefore identifiable.

Government of Canada AI Register — 2526-NCC-CCN-001

Run by: National Capital Commission (NCC)
Where: No fixed location
Kept: Not stated by the Helpful Places.
Shared with: Accountable organization, Vendor

What it is for

Inform

This system was a conversational chatbot deployed by the National Capital Commission on Facebook Messenger to answer frequently asked questions from members of the public. It simulated conversation with users using automated responses. The system has since been retired. Members of the public interacting with the National Capital Commission's Facebook Messenger page were the people affected by this system.

What it collects and what happens to it

Data taken in

About behaviour

Identifiable data

Text messages and questions submitted by users through Facebook Messenger, including their queries and conversational inputs. These messages are tied to users' Facebook accounts and are therefore identifiable.

Government of Canada AI Register — 2526-NCC-CCN-001

Processing

Language Models

The ManyChat platform uses scripted conversational flows and keyword/intent matching to route user messages to pre-written FAQ responses, simulating natural conversation.

Government of Canada AI Register — 2526-NCC-CCN-001

What it does

Understanding (Semantic AI)

Human decides

The chatbot interpreted user messages to match them to pre-defined frequently asked questions and returned scripted responses. Staff could intervene or update the question-answer content, with the system advising rather than making consequential decisions.

Government of Canada AI Register — 2526-NCC-CCN-001

Creating (Generative AI)

Human decides

The chatbot produced conversational text responses to user queries, simulating human conversation within Facebook Messenger. Responses were drawn from a scripted bank authored and reviewed by staff.

Government of Canada AI Register — 2526-NCC-CCN-001

Outputs

Generated content

Identifiable data

Automated text responses delivered to individual users in Facebook Messenger, answering their frequently asked questions. Responses are directed to identifiable Facebook accounts.

Government of Canada AI Register — 2526-NCC-CCN-001

Run by

National Capital Commission (NCC)

The National Capital Commission is a federal Crown corporation responsible for planning and developing Canada's Capital Region. It deployed this chatbot on Facebook Messenger to handle public inquiries through automated conversation.

Government of Canada AI Register — 2526-NCC-CCN-001

Built by

ManyChat

ManyChat is the vendor that supplied the chatbot platform used to build and operate the Facebook Messenger chatbot for the National Capital Commission.

Government of Canada AI Register — 2526-NCC-CCN-001

Kept for

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

Shared with

Available to the accountable organization

Conversation data and interaction logs processed through the ManyChat platform were accessible to the National Capital Commission as the deploying organization.

Government of Canada AI Register — 2526-NCC-CCN-001

Available to vendor

As the technology platform provider, ManyChat would have access to interaction data processed through its platform. The extent of data access by ManyChat and Facebook (Meta) is not detailed in the register entry.

Government of Canada AI Register — 2526-NCC-CCN-001

Stored

Not stated by the Helpful Places.

How to read the colours

Can it identify you?

Anonymized data: Data about people with the link to who is broken. Stripped of identifiers, blurred, aggregated, or noised so this system can’t reasonably tie a record back to an individual.
Pseudonymous data: Each person’s data is tied to a token (hash, ID, template) that lets this system recognise the same person across events, but the token itself doesn’t reveal a name. Reidentification is possible with extra information.
Identifiable data: The data either contains a direct identifier (name, address, account name, recognisable face or voice, plate number) or carries a token this system uses to look up legal identity during processing.

Who completes the loop?

Human decides: This mode suggests; a person decides what to do next. The AI is always advisory — a human is in the loop on every decision. Example: a triage tool ranks cases for a clinician who chooses which to see first.
Human executes: This mode decides; a person carries out the result. Example: an optimizer plans the day’s trash-collection routes, and drivers run them.
Autonomous: This mode decides and acts on its own. No person reviews each decision or carries out the resulting action.

Definitions from the DTPR standard. Amber is about your data, violet about who decides. The fuller the shape and the deeper the colour, the more identifying the data or the less a person is involved.

What you can do

Ask about this system

Questions go to the Helpful Places, not the vendor.

Your rights

Right to Be Informed of AI UseMembers of the public interacting with this chatbot had the right to know they were communicating with an automated system rather than a human agent. The register entry does not confirm whether a disclosure notice was provided within the Facebook Messenger interface. The system is now retired.

Risks and safeguards

Psychological harmThe system simulates human conversation without clearly disclosing to users that they are interacting with an automated chatbot rather than a person, which may mislead members of the public. The system is now retired. When active, mitigation relied on the FAQ-only scope of the system limiting the potential for harmful or misleading outputs.