19968 (2026). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology

Written Question

Published date: 10 Jun 2026

Metadata

Document type:	Written Question
Parliament number:	54
Question number:	19968 (2026)
Question asked:	20 May 2026
Member asking:	Francisco Hernandez
Portfolio:	Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology
Minister replying:	Hon Penny Simmonds
Answer received:	03 Jun 2026
Status:	Question Answered
Reply type:	Reply
Document ID:	WQ_19968_2026
Document guid:	5b97738e-84c8-4651-9a47-c4c146967064

19968 (2026). Francisco Hernandez to the Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology: How, if at all, has artificial intelligence been deployed in a customer service function in the Minister’s departments, agencies, crown entities and any other bodies that the Minister is responsible for, if any?

Hon Penny Simmonds: As Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, I have no responsibility for any government departments or ministries. With regard to Crown Entities and any other bodies under the Science, Innovation and Technology portfolio for which I am responsible, I am advised that Callaghan Innovation designed an AI solution called GovGPT in October 2024, which was an externally facing tool designed to provide accurate and referenceable information from different Government websites through natural language conversations, to help businesses access information faster and more easily than through a browser. The pilot was closed in March 2025. No other agency has advised they have deployed artificial intelligence in a customer service function.