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Step 2: Try This First Question - Council Chatbot Walkthrough

Ask the chatbot about bin collections and experience the wow moment

Walkthrough progress

Step 2 of 5 • 3 minutes

Step 2 3 minutes

Try This First Question

Let's start with a common resident question: asking about bin collection days. This demonstrates how the chatbot handles location-specific queries.

Copy this question

Click the copy button below, then paste it into the chatbot's text input box and press Send. 

When is my bin collection day for postcode B15 2NW?

How to ask the question

  1. Copy the question above by clicking the Copy button
  2. Go to your chatbot tab (the one you opened in Step 1)
  3. Click in the text input box at the bottom of the page
  4. Paste the question (Ctrl+V or Cmd+V)
  5. Click Send or press Enter
  6. Wait 2-3 seconds for the chatbot to respond

What you should see

  • Your question appears in the chat window
  • Chatbot responds within 2-3 seconds
  • Response mentions specific bin collection days for postcode B15 2NW
  • Response includes different bin types (Black, Blue, Green)
  • Response provides a link to check collection dates online

Natural Language Understanding

Notice how the chatbot understood your question without exact keywords. This uses Amazon Bedrock's Claude 3 Haiku model - the same AI that powers intelligent assistants, now available for council use.

Technical detail
RAG (Retrieval Augmented Generation) combines large language model intelligence with your council's specific knowledge base

Expected response

The chatbot should give a response similar to this:

Chatbot response:
Your bin collection days depend on your postcode area. For postcode B15 2NW, your collections are: Black bin (general waste): Every Tuesday, Blue bin (recycling): Every other Tuesday. Green bin (garden waste): Monthly on the second Friday. You can check your specific collection dates by entering your full postcode on our bin collection checker at birmingham.gov.uk/bincollection

Note: The exact wording may vary slightly, but the chatbot should provide:

  • Specific collection days for the postcode mentioned
  • Different bin types (general waste, recycling, garden waste)
  • Frequency of collections (weekly, fortnightly, monthly)
  • A link or reference to check exact dates online

What makes this impressive

Notice how the chatbot:

📍 Understood location context

It extracted "B15 2NW" from your question and used it to provide postcode-specific information - just like a human would.

🗂️ Retrieved council data

It accessed your council's knowledge base to find the correct bin collection schedule - not just generic information.

💬 Natural language response

The response reads naturally, not like a database query result. It's written for residents, not technical users.

🔗 Actionable guidance

It includes next steps (check online) and sets expectations (which bins, when) - helping residents self-serve.

Troubleshooting: Chatbot not responding

If the chatbot doesn't respond or shows an error:

  • Check your internet connection
  • Refresh the chatbot page and try again
  • Check the CloudFormation stack is still active (hasn't expired)
  • Try a simpler question first (e.g., "What are your opening hours?")
  • Check browser console for errors (F12 key, Console tab)
Troubleshooting: Response doesn't match expected

If the response is very different from expected:

  • The AI may phrase things differently - that's normal
  • Key information (bin types, days, postcode) should still be there
  • If completely unrelated, the knowledge base may not have loaded - try refreshing or redeploying

Need help?

If you're stuck, check the troubleshooting section or contact us.