Province of Bolzano builds the myCIVIS citizen portal with EMMA, a multilingual AI companion on Microsoft Copilot Studio and Foundry

Overview

The Province of Bolzano and its IT provider SIAG are building the myCIVIS portal, where citizens use voice, web or messaging to reach EMMA, a multilingual AI companion built with Microsoft Copilot Studio, with Microsoft Foundry for AI apps. An opt-out proactive feature lists services a citizen qualifies for, and complex cases go to human operators. The province also has 5,000 Microsoft 365 Copilot licences. The system was in beta, with launch planned for March.

The challenge

The Province of Bolzano wants to close the gap between citizens and public administration. The source says citizens typically did not know what services might be available to them, and that an ageing workforce and too few younger workers put pressure on staff answering citizen queries.

The solution

The province and its IT provider SIAG are building the myCIVIS portal, where citizens use voice, web or digital messaging to reach EMMA, a multilingual AI companion built with Microsoft Copilot Studio. The province built its digital infrastructure on Microsoft Power Platform and used Microsoft Foundry to construct its AI apps. An opt-in proactive feature lists the services a citizen qualifies for, and complex cases are directed to human operators.

Reported business value

The source reports no measured results; the system was in beta testing and was due to go online in March. Officials expect the chatbot to handle frequently asked questions first so staff have more time for residents' needs, and describe the aim as less guessing, less waiting and fewer lines. The province has also received EU-backed PNRR funding for the project.