Digital Assistant for Project Administration Instructions

This information was sourced from "Artificial Intelligence in Action: Selected ADB Initiatives in Asia and the Pacific," Asian Development Bank, 2024, https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/963831/artificial-intelligence-action-asia-pacific.pdf. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO (CC BY 3.0 IGO).

Project Administration Instructions (PAIs) are among the most accessed materials on the ADB website, with over 20,000 views and downloads yearly. The several series of PAIs provide information on the policies and procedures that should be followed throughout the entire project cycle of ADB-financed loan and technical assistance (TA) projects.

Users spent from a few minutes up to several hours finding the information they needed. To make it easier to find key instructions and guidelines in PAIs, Yellow.ai, then called Yellow Messenger, was engaged to develop a digital assistant. The intent was to have a tool that could quickly provide users with the information they need without having to manually sift through various documents on the ADB website.

Work on the MVP took place between June and September 2020. Key personnel from the Procurement, Portfolio and Financial Management Department (PPFD) tested it between September and October 2020, and comments and feedback were considered in the development of the digital assistant, which was officially launched in October 2020. The digital assistant, which came to be known as PPFD Intelligent Assistant (PIA), continues to be used in 2024.

The virtual assistant is powered by AI, enabling it to interact with users in a conversational manner and generate results relevant to queries. Traditional keyword searches relied on users’ familiarity with specific terms. In contrast, AI with natural language processing can be trained to generate results according to search intent. This allows PIA to learn with every new interaction, as well as from users’ queries and feedback, enabling it to adapt to business needs.

PIA automatically generates links to documents, informative videos, and comprehensive user manuals in response to user queries. PIA was also designed to automatically pick up and furnish the latest available information to users because PAI documents and technical guidance notes are updated on an ad hoc basis. Offline support from PPFD personnel is also available in case PIA is unable to provide the required information.

PIA also comes with an AI-powered analytical dashboard that is accessible to key ADB personnel who want to generate insights on the type of information clients and staff frequently search for.

The tool included special instructions related to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at the time the digital assistant was launched, which was when pandemic-related movement restrictions were in place. This became very handy, as clients and staff were able to get information in real time. PIA on the Project Administration Instructions page on the ADB website.

Around 1,200 users had over 1,700 sessions using PIA between October 2020 to June 2021. Each session was around 2 minutes long, which indicated that users read the information generated by the digital assistant.

The digital assistant was able to improve operational efficiency by enabling internal and external users to find information quickly and easily. At the same time, ADB used the dashboard feature to review common queries, feedback, and complaints from users, allowing it to introduce improvements. These elements contributed to fostering good relations between ADB and its clientele.