AI-powered Chatbot by Codulab improves BBC user engagement
An innovative AI-powered Citizen/Customer Engagement ChatBot has been making the news due to its impactful increase in user engagement across various sectors in Nigeria.
Codulab’s chatbot marks a milestone for Africa as it breaks new ground in AI-driven engagement systems, seamlessly combining deep learning with real-time data aggregation and natural language processing across platforms like WeChat and Telegram.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Newschatta launched February 2016 white-labelled Codulab’s AI chatbot in its mobile phone service that optimizes news recommendations to users via the WeChat Messenger app based on their input, keywords and topics.
In a pilot launch event in February 2016, Dmitry Shishkin, BBC Digital Editor for World Service Languages, emphasized their commitment to harnessing local tech expertise in Africa to drive innovation. Shishkin noted that prior to Nigeria, BBC had partnered with tech hubs and startups in Kenya and South Africa, successfully launching live products from both regions.
He expressed excitement that this trend had now extended to Lagos, particularly as BBC’s substantial editorial investments in Africa emphasize digital innovation as a key strategy for engaging young audiences on mobile.
Stanley Ojadovwa, a Product lead at Codulab, highlighted how their AI chatbot effectively targets young people aged 16 to 34 by delivering timely news content integrated into their daily digital routines.
Highlighting the technicality of achieving this product goal, Afeez Olajide, the creator of the chatbot who sublicensed it to BBC through Codulab in 2017 noted his approach to building the chatbot also introduced a novel blend of bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) layers with an attention mechanism.
This advancement significantly enhances the system’s ability to grasp context and interpret user intent across diverse domains, setting a new benchmark in AI-driven communication.
The success of this AI-powered chatbot for BBC’s Newschatta represents a major step forward in Nigeria’s AI landscape, not only advancing customer engagement but also setting new standards for AI-driven communication across the continent.
This pioneering collaboration reflects both the rising potential of African tech talent and the increasing demand for personalized, scalable engagement solutions that resonate with diverse communities.
As Africa continues to embrace digital inventions, innovations like this AI chatbot are paving the way for more dynamic, inclusive, and impactful communication in the years to come.
