CRA says AI will help boost call centre accuracy for taxpayers seeking info

A senior official working at the Canada Revenue Agency says the agency is looking to artificial intelligence and better training to help call centre agents provide more accurate answers to taxpayers.

Melanie Serjak, an assistant commissioner at the CRA, told MPs on a standing committee today the agency is looking to roll out a more “senior and standardized” level of training and to introduce “automation” to improve the accuracy of CRA agents’ advice to the public.

After placing calls to the CRA’s contact centres over four months this year, the office of Auditor General Karen Hogan found that CRA call centre staff answered just 17 per cent of individual tax questions accurately.

In a new report released last week, Hogan said the CRA seems more concerned with adhering to employee schedules for shifts and breaks than with the “accuracy and completeness of information they provided to callers.”

The CRA has used a virtual chatbot called Charlie to provide automated responses to frequently asked questions.

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Hogan’s report said taxpayers are more likely to get an accurate response from the chatbot than from an agent.