South KoreaPublic sector2026 – ongoingNational Tax Service (South Korea)
Generative AI tax chatbot on Hometax
The tax agency's generative AI chatbot drew 20% more users in its first filing season, who needed fewer questions each
Problem
Millions of taxpayers file VAT returns and year-end settlements in short seasonal peaks, and many questions repeat. The National Tax Service's earlier Hometax chatbot answered set questions on filing periods and payment methods and handled 1.87 million consultations in 2023, but it could not answer tax-law questions in conversation.
Approach
In January 2026 the agency built a tax-specialised generative AI chatbot and piloted it for VAT filing and year-end settlement until February. Answers are grounded in consultation cases and filing manuals verified by tax offices, reflect recent amendments and cite rulings; guardrails block inaccurate answers and off-topic questions, and staff check responses. In April 2026 the agency announced plans to extend the chatbot to income tax filing and work and child tax credits from 1 May, as part of a 65-task AI plan with major services scheduled from 2028.
Results
Takeaway
The agency counted fewer questions per user as success, suggesting more were resolved in one go. It used verified internal material and human review; reported figures covered only a two-month pilot.
Categories
- Size
- Large enterprise
- Industry
- Public sector
- Business function
- Customer service
- Innovation type
- Process innovationProduct and service innovation
- AI technology
- Generative AIConversational and voice AI
- Adoption
- Built in-house
- Evidence
- Company's own claim
Sources
Source summaries
Money Today reports the National Tax Service's announcement that the generative AI chatbot, first offered for VAT and year-end settlement in January and February 2026, would cover income tax and tax credits from 1 May. It gives users up 20% (43,027 to 51,670) and questions per user down about 26% (2.6 to 1.9). It describes the grounding in verified material, the guardrails and staff checks, and the 65-task AI plan.
News Seoul reports the chatbot expansion and the increases in users and decreases in questions per user. It adds that answers cite rulings linked to the government's legal information system and that the agency plans generative AI infrastructure for AI e-filing and an AI tax consultant from 2027.
KIDD reports the pilot results, with 51,670 users (up 20%) and questions per user falling from 2.6 to 1.9, along with the May extension. It notes the 65 tasks of the AI plan and phased services from 2028.
Tax Watch describes the earlier Hometax chatbot, which offered round-the-clock answers in six areas and handled 1.87 million consultations in 2023, mostly on year-end settlement, income tax and tax credits. It reports the agency's plan, at the time, to add a generative AI service trained on tax law, rulings and precedents.
Full details are in the original sources.
