United KingdomPublic sector2024 – ongoing

West Midlands Police

Andi-Esra virtual assistant for 101 call answering and triage

West Midlands Police's AI assistant answered 17,000 calls and prioritised nearly 800 vulnerable callers in a trial

WorkingCompany's own claim

Problem

Some callers to the police's 101 service could abandon their calls when human handlers could not answer immediately. Urgent concerns could therefore remain in the queue.

Approach

West Midlands Police trialled the Andi-Esra AI phone assistant for 2 months. It answered calls and diverted time-sensitive cases to human handlers. The commissioner reported quicker help for vulnerable callers.

Results

17,000calls answered during the 2-month trial, reported by the Police and Crime CommissionerCompany's own claim[1]

nearly 800vulnerable callers prioritised during the trial, reported by the commissionerCompany's own claim[1]

Takeaway

Human handlers remained responsible for time-sensitive calls routed by the assistant. The reported totals did not establish the system's accuracy in identifying urgency.

Sources

PCC praise for police virtual call handling assistant
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner28 Oct 2024Government publication

Source summaries

[1]West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner28 Oct 2024

The commissioner reported 17,000 calls answered and nearly 800 vulnerable callers prioritised during a 2-month trial. Time-sensitive calls were transferred to police call handlers.

Full details are in the original sources.

Added 1 Nov 2026 · Updated 1 Nov 2026