The Department of Veterans Affairs has implemented a new chatbot feature that allows you to ask questions and receive a somewhat human response.
The feature is in the Beta (pre-release/test) phase but is accessible to veterans with a VA account by logging in to the VA and visiting this link : VA Virtual Agent.
If you are not logged in, the chatbot will detect that you are not logged in and will attempt to redirect you to the Login Portal.
What to Expect
The Chatbot is currently capable of finding your information and displaying it in a chat window with a summary and appropriate links in a limited capacity.
Here are some of the sample questions it starts you off with:
This bot can help you find general information on VA.gov. To get started, you can ask questions such as:
- What’s the PACT Act?
- What is my claim status?
- Where is my decision letter?
- Is there an update on my appeal?
The relevant question to me was “What is my claim status?” so I typed it in and got this result.
I also asked:
- Do I have any upcoming appointments?
- Can I schedule an appointment?
- How do I get a Veteran ID?
The responses to these questions were each answered with general information and links to the relevant areas of the VA website.
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Chatbot Limitations
Currently there is a longer list of what the chatbot cannot do but the ease of the interface looks promising.
Our chatbot can’t do any of these things:
Department of Veterans Affairs – Virtual Agent
- Determine if you have a medical or mental health condition
- Provide medical or mental health advice, treatment, or counseling
- Answer questions or take reports about your prescriptions or side effects
- Help you with a personal, medical, or mental health emergency
- Transfer you directly to one of our call center representatives
- Help you sign in to VA.gov
I heard about the chatbot through the Facebook group VA Comp & Pension Claims. If you have any questions about your VA Compensation or Pension Claims you should visit them. It is the best group on Facebook for this area of help. It is moderated by Veterans, VSOs, and prior VA employees.
