The Information and Citizen Assistance Service 012 of the Government of the Canary Islands is going to launch an information channel via WhatsApp assisted by artificial intelligence, with the aim of strengthening the simplest channels for citizens, announced the Director General of Digital Transformation, Guadalupe González Taño.
The Director General accompanied the President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, this Tuesday on a visit to the 012 facilities in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where she learned about the progress of this service, which **employs 476 people** across both provinces and handled seven million phone calls from citizens seeking information in 2025González Taño highlighted that this service, which assists citizens in sixteen languages, provides personalized responses to their information and administrative requests, with over 65% of the demand focused on healthcare system appointments
One of the most recent services is the appointment confirmation from the Canary Islands Health Service, to remind people when they have their appointment and to assign it to someone else who needs it in case they cannot attend
With the aim of expanding the channels through which it interacts with citizens, the 012 is working on platforms such as social media, email, and mailbox inquiries.
Throughout the first quarter of 2026, services will be enhanced through the WhatsApp channel, currently in testing, an AI-assisted channel.
"Regardless of whether we open new channels and make information more easily accessible to citizens, there will always be a person behind all the services," González Taño guaranteedSo "no matter how much artificial intelligence and how many mechanisms we put in place to help citizens," as long as a citizen wants to speak with a person, they will be able to, he guaranteed
The WhatsApp channel is based on a decision tree and uses a chatbot with a friendly and colloquial language.
If the WhatsApp response is not sufficient and the citizen does not wish to continue through that channel, they are automatically transferred to personal assistance.
"Artificial intelligence is a useful and necessary tool for providing better services, and we are already using it internally for management," the general director indicated.