Lâm Đồng Puts AI Robots in Commune Service Centres to Answer Residents’ Paperwork Questions
Lâm Đồng Province is expanding its use of artificial intelligence robots at public administrative service centres so that residents can find out what a procedure requires before they queue for an official, Viet Nam News reported on October 27, drawing on Vietnam News Agency reporting. At the Tân Thành Commune centre, Nguyễn Thị Thùy Trang of Kê Gà Hamlet asked a robot what documents she needed to register her child’s birth and where to go. The robot listed the paperwork, told her where to submit it and, when asked, estimated how long processing would take.
The rollout has been gradual. Phan Thiết Ward has run a robot around the clock since April, and more than 210 people have used it, according to centre director Phạm Thị Kha Uyên. Hòa Thắng Commune has used a robot and the MISA Agent Work platform since July, Xuân Hương–Đà Lạt Ward began in August, and Đức Trọng Commune deployed one on October 8. In Hòa Thắng, resident Võ Văn Trung said advance guidance on requirements, submission methods, processing time and fees for a household business licence helped him file a complete application faster.
Nguyễn Văn Chiến, director of the Hòa Thắng centre, said the system supports searches for required documents, procedural steps and processing times, and explains how to submit applications online through the National Public Service Portal. By taking routine questions, the robots free officials to check applications, give detailed guidance and handle complicated cases. Staff update the information whenever procedures change, said centre official Dương Minh Cam.
What it means in practice
The province frames the project as part of Politburo Resolution 57 on breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation. Chiến noted that some rural residents have limited access to technology, so the robots are also a way to help people get used to online public services. The approach sits at the practical end of Vietnam’s digital-government push, alongside the AI chatbot added to eTax Mobile for tax-law questions and Hanoi’s more ambitious Agent City initiative for AI agents in public services. The key risk is accuracy: a robot is only as useful as the procedure data behind it.
What to watch is whether Lâm Đồng publishes usage figures across all of its centres and whether the robots move beyond answering questions to helping residents fill in and submit applications online.