Frequently asked questions about AI telephony for municipalities

CivitPhone is a conversational artificial intelligence platform designed for municipalities. It acts as “virtual operator” Automatically answering citizens' calls 24 hours a day. Resolves problems such as overloaded lines (reduces wait times and missed calls) and the digital divide, as it allows anyone to obtain information without using the internet or apps, just with a call. Additionally, it provides data and reports to the municipality about the inquiries received, helping to improve public services.

Very little. Only an initial setup is required with your municipality’s information. Specifically, providing local FAQs, service listings, schedules, contact numbers for referrals, etc. With that, the CivitPhone team performs a quick onboarding with a base bot and personalizes the assistant for your municipality. The specific training takes about 3–4 weeks, and then there’s a 2-week onboarding to fine-tune. In short: in a few weeks, your municipality can have the service up and running, without any additional infrastructure on your part.

Yes, CivitPhone fully complies with the GDPR. We implement all data protection principles: minimization (we only collect essential data and retain it for the necessary time), order processing agreements with our suppliers, and encryption of communications and stored data (in transit and at rest). The main infrastructure is hosted in the European Union[5], thus ensuring the legal requirements for storage within the GDPR territory. (More details in our Privacy Policy.)

Yes, CivitPhone is designed to complement existing systems. Initially, it can operate without technical integration (coexistence)—that is, it answers calls and guides citizens, and if necessary, tells them to visit the existing electronic headquarters or send a summary to the registration email. But if desired, integration can be implemented in phases: for example, in a first phase sending notifications or tickets to the system (Sedipualba, EsPúblico) with the incidents received; in a second phase exchanging data via CSV or available APIs (for example, checking the status of an case in Sedipualba); and in a third phase real-time integration via web services or webhooks. Everything depends on the capabilities and permissions of each platform, but the philosophy of CivitPhone is to integrate without friction and to make the most of what the municipality already has. (See the “Partners and Integrations” section for more information about the recommended phases.)

CivitPhone provides several key metrics for evaluating results: the number of calls answered by AI, the reduction in missed calls compared to before, the decrease in phone wait times, the percentage of self-service (queries resolved without human intervention), and citizen satisfaction (measured by surveys or sentiment analysis in calls). These KPIs can be viewed in real time on the control panel, and reports are generated for the Mayor’s Office or municipal councils with the most relevant data. Success is also reflected in the release of workload from staff, who can devote more time to complex cases while AI handles the simple ones.

Yes. Although CivitPhone automatically resolves many queries, it is configured to work alongside the human team. If during a call the assistant detects that the request requires human intervention (for example, a very specific case, or the citizen requests to speak to someone), it transfers the call to an available municipal operator. Before transferring, it collects the citizen’s initial information to save time for the human (it provides a summary of the query and the requested data). This way, the experience is seamless: the citizen does not have to repeat everything, and the staff receives context to continue assisting.

CivitPhone understands and can express itself in Spanish, English, French and German, and for a second phase we are training the model in other co-official languages such as Valencian, Catalan, Galician and Basque. For each project in a municipality with a co-official language, we train the model with that variant to ensure that citizens can speak in their language and be understood. The specific administrative terminology (e.g. names of procedures in Catalan/Valencian, etc.) is also incorporated during customization.

CivitPhone is prepared for seasonal peaks. We know that at certain times of the year (IBI collection, school enrollment period, patronal holidays) the volume of inquiries skyrockets. By anticipating these events, we can load seasonal content (questions and answers related to those events) and strengthen our resources. The assistant is capable of handling simultaneous calls (in its standard version, up to ~20 at a time), which absorbs the peaks while maintaining low response times. In short, it is configured for each campaign and prevents line outages, while maintaining the quality of the service.

CivitPhone is precisely oriented towards improving accessibility. Based on voice calls, anyone with a basic landline or mobile phone can use it – they don’t need a smartphone, install anything, or know how to navigate the internet. This benefits especially older people or groups with low digital literacy, closing the digital gap. Additionally, the assistant responds with clear and modulated voice; and for people with hearing disabilities, text options could be integrated in the future (for example, the web chatbot to complete the inclusion). Compliance with accessibility standards is part of our values.

An AI voice agent is a system capable of handling citizen calls using natural language, understanding what they need, consulting municipal information, and responding or performing certain tasks automatically.

Yes. CivitPhone can complement a 010 line by answering calls 24/7, resolving common queries, guiding on procedures, managing appointments or incidents, and transferring to the appropriate department when necessary.

Not necessarily. CivitPhone can be integrated with the existing telephony infrastructure and add an artificial intelligence layer without forcing the municipality to replace its current switchboard.

Yes. When a query requires human attention, the agent can forward the call to the appropriate department, extension, or service according to the rules defined by the municipality.

Yes. CivitPhone can be integrated with appointment systems to check availability, request data from citizens, and manage reservations when the integration allows it.

Yes. The agent can collect information about incidents, classify the reason, request the necessary data and send them to the corresponding municipal system.

An IVR forces the citizen to navigate through pre-defined menus and options. An AI-powered voice agent allows them to directly explain what they need and maintain a natural conversation.

CivitPhone uses controlled municipal sources, conversational rules, contextual information retrieval, and validation mechanisms to reduce incorrect responses and route the call when the information is not reliable enough.

The solution is designed to work under security requirements, data protection, traceability, and compliance applicable to the public sector, including ENS, GDPR, and AI Act-related obligations depending on the scope of the project.

CivitPhone can offer multilingual support and adapt to Spanish, co-official languages and other languages according to the needs of the municipality.