The Community of Madrid has taken another step in its digitalization strategy with the launch of SOL, an avatar based on Artificial Intelligence It is integrated into the institutional portal to facilitate citizens' interaction with the regional administration. This new virtual assistant is designed so that anyone, regardless of their technological experience, can resolve doubts and navigate procedures without having to travel or wait in lines.
Presented at the Royal Post Office by the regional president, Isabel DÃaz Ayuso, the avatar aims to become a kind of permanently available digital one-stop shop. Thanks to the combination of generative AInatural language processing, speech recognition and synthesisSOL offers information on public services, explains administrative procedures and guides navigation through the regional website in a more accessible and understandable way.
What is SOL and how does the Community of Madrid avatar work?
SOL is a virtual avatar with the appearance of a young womanCreated using artificial intelligence technologies and trained on data and content from the Madrid administration itself, this system is far from being a simple text chatbot. It allows interaction with citizens through voice and written messages, providing both oral and on-screen responses tailored to the type of query.
Unlike traditional assistants, the SOL experience is based on a conversational model that imitates human gestures and expressions in real timeThis makes interactions feel more natural. The avatar can listen to questions, process information, and provide synthesized voice responses, while also offering more detailed explanations in text format for those who prefer to read or need more information.
During the presentation, several users submitted live inquiries to test its functionality. Among other requests, they asked about... leisure plans for the weekend or how the transport pass worksAnd SOL was able to respond with clear and precise instructions. This type of demonstration aims to highlight that the assistant is not only useful for bureaucratic questions, but also for navigating the region's cultural and tourist offerings.
The avatar's appearance is not random: it has been designed with a Digital image of a young woman with short, dark hair, dressed casuallytrained with the collaboration of real people who participated in the development. This preliminary work aims to give SOL a more approachable and recognizable presence for users, while still remaining a computer-generated representation.
In technical terms, SOL's so-called "digital brain" is powered by the Information systems, databases and official documentation of the regional governmentThis allows you to provide answers aligned with current regulations, administrative guidelines, and ongoing institutional campaigns, reducing the possibility of errors or outdated information.
24/7 availability and support in 95 languages
One of the key points of the project is that SOL has been conceived as a Uninterrupted service, operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a yearIn this way, citizens do not depend on office hours or the busiest times for information lines to ask their questions.
The president of the Madrid region stressed that this constant availability is especially useful for those They are less comfortable with digital tools or they need to carry out procedures outside of normal business hours, whether for work or personal reasons. The idea is that, simply by entering the new website, anyone can contact the avatar and receive an immediate response without waiting.
Another noteworthy aspect is the assistant's multilingual capability. SOL can communicate in Up to 95 different languages, both by text and by voice.This versatility allows us to answer questions from foreign residents, tourists, or people who express themselves better in another language, opening the door to more inclusive service in a region as diverse as Madrid.
The demonstration tests included questions not only in Spanish, but also in languages ​​such as English or RomanianThe avatar was able to understand and respond in the language used. This feature is especially useful in areas such as public transport, cultural offerings, and basic services, where tourists and visitors constantly need information.
By offering both spoken and written responses, SOL also adapts to different preferences and accessibility needsThose who prefer a brief and direct explanation can listen to the oral message, while those who need more detail or have hearing difficulties have the full written version.
Impact on the 012 service and on the management of procedures
Beyond the technological novelty, the deployment of the avatar has a very practical objective: reduce the saturation of the 012 citizen service lineAccording to estimates advanced by the regional government, approximately 70% of the calls currently received at this number could be resolved through SOL, as they are informational or repetitive queries.
The expectation is that, by channeling a significant portion of those questions to the virtual assistant, Shorten telephone queues and save time for both users and professionals who work on 012. In this way, human operators could focus on the most complex cases or those requiring personalized attention, while the avatar takes care of the most frequent queries.
In a later phase of the project, SOL is expected to go beyond mere information and be able to to assist citizens in carrying out specific proceduresExamples mentioned include applications for certain scholarships, where the assistant would help complete steps, resolve common issues, and clarify what documentation is needed at each stage.
In addition to the scholarships, the intention is for the avatar to be progressively integrated into services such as the Digital Account, the offices of the Regional Transport Consortium, the Youth Card or employment devicesThis would mean that, from the same conversational environment, it would be possible to initiate or continue procedures that are currently done through more traditional forms.
The system is designed not only to respond, but also to to gather real-time information on the main needs and concerns of citizensThis data, anonymized and processed with privacy protection criteria, can help the Administration to detect which procedures generate the most confusion, where users get stuck, or which areas require an improvement in the explanation of the processes.
Technologies used and data protection
SOL's development relies on a set of advanced Artificial Intelligence solutions. These include: Generative AI for response creation, natural language processing, and semantic search engines, capable of interpreting the meaning of the questions beyond the exact words used.
Based on that, systems are integrated speech recognition and synthesiswhich allow users' speech to be transformed into text that AI can process and, conversely, convert the system's responses into oral messages that the avatar transmits with intonation and rhythm similar to those of a person.
The coordination of all these elements aims to make the interaction as non-robotic as possible, with coherent, quick responses adapted to the context of each queryIt's not just about returning literal information from a database, but about understanding what the citizen wants to know and offering them the relevant part of the regulations or public service that affects them.
Since it is a service based on administrative data, the Community of Madrid has insisted that the project has been designed respecting the current privacy and data protection regulations in the European UnionThis involves implementing technical and organizational measures to protect personal information, limiting the use of data to the intended purposes, and guaranteeing users' rights.
The European approach to digital matters requires that any tool of this type take into account the security, transparency and traceability of responsesThus, the use of AI must be supervised and aligned with public service criteria, so that arbitrary recommendations are not generated and the confidentiality of the information handled is not compromised.
A new, clearer, more accessible and intuitive website
The unveiling of the SOL avatar has gone hand in hand with the launch of a New design of the Community of Madrid websiteThe site's redesign is not limited to an aesthetic change; it aims to help citizens find what they are looking for in fewer steps and with more logical navigation, regardless of their age or level of digital skill.
One of the main changes is that the information is organized by topics and services, instead of by departmentsThis aims to prevent the user from having to know the internal structure of the Administration to locate a procedure, and to allow them to reach it by following a more natural path, guided by their needs: health, education, housing, transport, culture, etc.
At the top of the portal, a header with direct links to the most requested contentsuch as the regional anti-drug campaign, the Housing Emergency Plan, or initiatives like "Villages with Life." In this way, priority policies and programs of greatest public interest are visible from the first screen.
The project managers also emphasize that the new design is adapted to mobile devices and different screen formatsIn line with the current trend of primarily using the web from phones and tablets, the visual structure has been simplified to make the main elements easier to identify and the reading experience more comfortable.
In addition, the catalog of digital services has been reorganized in levels that facilitate information retrieval and the initiation of proceduresSections such as the cultural agenda, the thematic pages of Digital Account or VisitMadrid have been reviewed, and links to mobile applications linked to regional services have been strengthened, so that the portal is a gateway to the entire digital ecosystem of the Community.
AI-powered search engine with integrated user experiences
The website redesign is complemented by improvements in the internal search engine, which now incorporates AI-generated answersThis means that, when typing a query into the search engine, the user not only gets links to related pages, but also an informative summary that can clarify the main aspects of the question at a glance.
Along with these improvements, the portal includes a specific space with suggestions for tourist plans and visitsDesigned for those seeking cultural activities, routes, or leisure options in the region, SOL can also provide guidance on what to do in the Community of Madrid, beyond strict administrative procedures.
The site also reinforces a Directory of mobile applications linked to public servicesso that citizens can find in one place the digital tools they may need in their daily lives: from health consultations to transport information or resources for young people.
The integration of the avatar into this revamped environment allows for a more seamless experience. The user can go from a search on the portal to a conversation with SOL to clarify doubts or request additional instructions, without having to change the channel or leave the institutional site itself.
With this combination of virtual assistant, smart search engine and reorganized portalThe Community of Madrid aims to make the digital relationship with the Administration less cumbersome and more results-oriented, trying to reduce the sense of bureaucracy that often accompanies public procedures.
The rollout of the SOL avatar and the redesign of the regional government's website are part of a broader administrative modernization strategy, in which the Artificial Intelligence It is presented as a tool to streamline procedures and improve service.
