Kobe City Tax Department Fully Deploys Voice AI 'AI Worker VoiceAgent' for Citizen CallsA · FULL TRANSLATION
- AI Shift's VoiceAgent is formally adopted by Kobe City's tax department
- The AI answers routine tax inquiries by phone, routing complex cases to staff
- The move from trial to full deployment makes Kobe a pioneer among Japanese municipalities
- AI Shift is an AI customer-service unit of the CyberAgent group
Kobe's tax department handing phone inquiries to voice AI marks Japan's municipal digital transformation moving from back-office paperwork to the citizen-facing front line. Tax calls suit AI well: questions are highly repetitive, and volume spikes seasonally during filing periods. Let AI absorb the routine, and save humans for complex cases.
The structural backdrop: Japan has roughly 1,700 municipalities, and shrinking populations make civil-servant recruitment ever harder, so AI as labor substitute is becoming a necessity, not an option. Formal adoption by a major designated city like Kobe creates a demonstration effect — exactly the B2G logic behind CyberAgent's bet. Taiwan's municipal hotlines face the same staffing pressures and could borrow the playbook.
When citizens calling city hall reach an AI, who is accountable for the human touch of public service?
AI Shift Inc. announced that its voice agent service 'AI Worker VoiceAgent' has been formally deployed by the Tax Department of Kobe City to answer citizens' tax-related phone inquiries.
The VoiceAgent automatically handles routine, high-frequency questions such as payment deadlines and procedural guidance, while transferring complex cases to human staff — relieving call volume during busy filing seasons and easing labor shortages.
AI Shift is a CyberAgent group company specializing in AI customer service. Kobe's progression from trial to full-scale operation makes it a leading example of Japanese local governments adopting voice AI at citizen touchpoints, likely encouraging other municipalities to follow.