contador web Skip to content

COVID-19: Questions about Social Security support? There's a new smart bot that answers everything

The Social Security portal has been updated to provide information on exceptional support measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as service contacts. For this, the platform counts on the help of a chatbot, an initiative of Instituto de Informtica and Instituto da Segurana Social, in partnership with the Portuguese startup HiJiffy.

"Ol! I'm a virtual assistant. How can I help?" This is the question of the chatbot, which now provides information about COVID-19 and Social Security contacts. By choosing the option "COVID-19", the user will have access to a set of support measures approved by the Government, in six areas.

From employers, to self-employed and domestic service workers, the options are diverse. You can also find out about social protection measures for isolation and illness, social security contributions and employment support measures. The chatbot can also inform you about assisting children and grandchildren.

In addition to information on measures launched in the context of the new pandemic, the virtual assistant provides Social Security contacts. At this point, the Portuguese are advised to contact the services through non-face-to-face channels: email, Social Security Direct, telephone and practical guides .

Virtual Social Security Assistant

SAPO TEK contacted the Portuguese startup HiJiffy, which guaranteed that in the next few days more information about the project would be released.

This initiative comes at a time when the OECD considers that Portugal is the country with the most "innovative" projects to combat COVID-19. Of the 148 differentiating initiatives that aim to tackle the pandemic, Portugal is the country with the largest number of solutions, 17. With multiple online platforms launched in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, the OECD highlights, for example, the Government website "Somos ON" , which recently also became available in an application. As an objective, it is intended to promote the use of online services by the population to avoid contact during this pandemic.