Chatico: Bogotá’s AI chatbot for everyday participation

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Citizens during the District Development Plan campaign. Source Sergio Grandas Medina

This is part of a series of stories on digital participation platforms produced with support from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation’s Global Innovation Hub, Taipei. To read others in the series, see these case studies from Germany and Northern Ireland.

How do you build a digital tool that promotes civic participation, improves service delivery, and shares real-time public information, all in one platform? The city of Bogotá, Colombia, found an answer with Chatico, an AI-powered WhatsApp chatbot developed by the Mayor’s Office of Bogotá.

Chatico is a key part of the city's big push and strategy for a more connected city. The citywide strategy, led by the ICT Advisory Office and known as Bogotá Capital Digital, aims to “build a citizen-centered digital ecosystem, where digital tools not only inform, but also solve problems, listen to people, and transform public interaction with the State.”

Motivating factors

In recent times, the city faced many challenges, including:

  • Trust: Many residents didn’t trust the government or feel included in decision-making.

  • Access to services was often slow or confusing.

  • Traditional participation channels weren’t reaching enough people.

So the tool was conceived to help the city address these issues. Chatico was strategically designed to strengthen the relationship between citizens and the city government. By leveraging artificial intelligence and natural language processing, Chatico was developed to allow residents to easily access information about public services, participate in community campaigns, deliberative assemblies, and stay informed about policies and citywide initiatives, all through a platform they already use every day.

Chatico was developed to allow residents to easily access information about public services, participate in community campaigns, deliberative assemblies, and stay informed about policies and citywide initiatives, all through a platform they already use every day.

The city created Chatico to serve citizens and the city in various ways, including:

  • Closing gaps in access to public services and information,

  • Strengthening citizen participation in public decision-making, and 

  • Modernizing interaction channels with the public in a more efficient, inclusive, and user-friendly way.

“From the beginning, Chatico was designed as a trusted, automated, and accessible digital channel through which people could ask questions, complete procedures, receive alerts, and participate in key civic processes such as public consultations and digital voting.”

Armando Navarro and Angela María Beltrán Ortega from the Open State and Public Innovation in Fundación Corona (Fundación Corona), a People Powered member, shared how “Chatico is scaling participation, particularly in the citizen assemblies, supporting the city’s development plan, and connecting different communities and citizens who do not usually have avenues to participate in decision-making.” Fundación Corona is one various entities collaborating with the Mayor’s office in this work, particularly the development plan of Bogotá and the deliberative assemblies to boost public participation and citizen engagement. 

Inclusion was the driving force behind the design of the tool. The city wanted to ensure that Chatico was easily accessible for seniors, youth, people with disabilities, and residents with low digital literacy. “The development of Chatico is an important step for citizen participation in Colombia. Since it’s a mobile-first chatbot, it runs smoothly even on low-end devices and unstable connections. The main strength of Chatico is its user-friendliness; anyone, regardless of age, can use it. This has helped improve participation in the city and was also important in the deliberative assemblies,” explains Armando Navarro. 

Participation in local decision-making has improved because of it: “If you can see the data… eight or ten years ago, the participation was low. Today, participation is high.” Tools like Chatico help connect different population groups, women, children, adults, and others who don’t usually have the same opportunity to participate. We have particularly seen more participation from the youth/teens,” Angela Beltran.

About Chatico and how it works

“With Chatico, Bogotá opens the doors of government to all its citizens, no queues, no paperwork, and no digital barriers,”  said the Mayor of Bogotá. 

The tool is configured and maintained through a specialized technology service contract under the supervision of the District ICT Advisory Office (Consejería TIC) and in coordination with the General Secretariat of the Mayor’s Office of Bogotá. Chatico is the core component of the city’s ‘Omnichannel Orchestration Platform’, which centralizes digital communication, participation, and service delivery in one secure and scalable ecosystem. It operates 24/7/365 using a SaaS (Software as a Service) model and leverages conversational AI to facilitate real-time interactions between citizens and the local government. 

Essentially, Chatico lives where the people are, on WhatsApp, WebChat, Telegram, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger. This allows residents to message the chatbot, choose from simple menu options, and get what they need. The city chose these channels to ensure “coverage for a wide range of populations, including those with limited internet access or who rely mainly on social networks.” When citizens access the chatbot, they receive a welcome message with interactive menu options, and in participation campaigns, Chatico deploys customized conversational flows designed by the relevant public entities. During these interactions, Chatico:

  • Explains the objective, dates, and scope of the campaign. 

  • Asks structured questions (e.g., “What district do you live in?”, “Which topic is most important to you?”).

  • Allows users to vote, select options, submit proposals, and answer open-ended questions.

  • Provides real-time confirmation messages.

  • Redirects to human support agents when necessary.

People can access Chatico via WhatsApp

On Chatico, Bogota citizens can: 

  • Open Government Bogotá: Allows citizens to be part of the group that understands the District Government's management, ensuring that public information is complete, useful, and inclusive. Through this service, citizens participate in campaigns led by public entities and propose ideas to solve local challenges. 

  • Procedures and services: Submit various requests (Sisbén, education, taxes, public services, transportation) to streamline information in a simple and easily accessible manner.

  • District Aid: Find and receive information on the various district-level support programs available to residents who fall into the following groups: pregnant and/or breastfeeding mothers, Guaranteed Minimum Income transfers, senior citizens, in-kind subsidies, and redeemable vouchers.

  • Real-time information: Relevant city information updated daily, including weather, utility outages, peak and license plate, vaccination services, mobility updates, and much more. In this regard, the chatbot uses algorithms and artificial intelligence to reduce congestion at physical service points and quickly communicate various city-related topics of general interest.

During participation campaigns, Chatico collects both structured and unstructured data, including demographic data, thematic priorities, qualitative inputs, engagement data (e.g, voting activity, survey responses, etc), and behavioral data such as session duration, entry point, and interaction patterns. This data is then displayed as insights in live dashboards for policymakers. The data is integrated with institutional systems, without exposing sensitive user data. Data protection and privacy are very important for the city, so it ensures that all data is securely stored in compliance with Colombian data protection laws, and provides end-to-end traceability of each session and message. The city also performs audit logs, anti-fraud detection, sentiment analysis, and response quality monitoring to ensure everything is running accordingly. 

“There are many benefits to this tool. First, the chatbot encourages more citizens to participate in city issues. Second, it collects valuable data such as names, ages, and places of residence, which helps the city understand “why the people participate, where the people are based and who they are,” and makes it easier to design effective public policies,” said Armando.

To ensure that the tool runs smoothly and ethically, the District ICT Advisory Office governs Chatico’s ethical, functional, and technical use. The office defines data governance, inclusion, and service quality policies, reviews new participation flows, and ensures that all campaigns align with Bogotá’s digital democracy goals. All public entities must validate their campaigns with the ICT Advisory Office before launch, ensuring consistency and accountability.

AI integration

As of 2025, Chatico incorporates generative AI capabilities, which enhance its ability to understand natural language, generate contextual responses, and dynamically guide users through participatory processes. “For the mayor and his team, the implementation of AI was not a goal in itself, but rather a strategic tool to strengthen digital democracy, institutional transparency, and citizen trust.”

Ireland Twiggs during the People’s Panel

Chatico in action

To date, Chatico has already played a central role in two key public campaigns, the Participatory Budgeting 202,4 i.e “Proyecta Local” and the Public Consultation for the 2024–2028 District Development Plan, helping shape public policy. In November 2024, Bogotá launched Proyecta Local, a citywide participatory budgeting campaign that ran for just 13 days, but the results were massive. 

Through Chatico, more than 132,000 votes poured in, with 56,000 residents weighing in on 2,700 local budget proposals. For the city, this campaign was a success because of who participated. The majority of participants were women (57%), along with migrants and people with disabilities, who are groups that often face barriers in participatory processes. This became the largest digital voting process ever recorded for participatory budgeting in Bogotá, with Chatico alone handling 89% of all digital votes.

The campaign was a collaboration between various actors, including the Secretariat of Government, District Institute for Participation (IDPAC), the General Secretariat, the ICT Advisory Office, and local mayors’ offices.

“The campaign strengthened institutional trust and positioned Chatico as a scalable and inclusive participation channel.”

Additionally, in early 2024, Chatico played a central role in drafting Bogotá’s new District Development Plan. The District Development Plan is the roadmap that guides the government's actions over the next four years. Its main objective is to improve the quality of life for all citizens by addressing problems and creating opportunities for a better future. “The mayor is using the platform to develop different policies. For example, all governments at the national level must create development plans for their period of government. In both the last and current administrations, Chatico has been used to consult citizens about the topics the mayor must take into account, maybe a specific action or policy for the city, such as security, transport, or environmental issues,” Armando

As part of the development of the 2024–2028 District Development Plan, Bogotá conducted a two-phase public participation process. The first phase, Sentires Ciudadanos (Citizen Sentiments), collected over 69,000 submissions through online surveys, listening sessions, and local meetings. Key concerns included public safety, rural transportation, and accessibility for people with disabilities. Together with the second phase, Aspiraciones Comunes, the process gathered a total of 216,599 citizen inputs, a record figure that highlights the impact of combining digital tools with community-based engagement. The initial draft of the "Bogotá Walks Safely" Development Plan was submitted on February 28, with a final draft to be presented to the City Council by April 30. Citizen proposals will be integrated into the Plan’s goals or budget projects, depending on their feasibility.

Of the 147,422 entries registered in Chatico, 90% were selected from a closed list and 10% were proposed solutions drafted by citizens. In total, 41,801 people participated in the process; 59% were women and 40% were men, primarily between the ages of 29 and 50 (49%) and 18 and 28 (24%). Furthermore, 82% of contributors indicated they had not previously participated in the development of this guide for the city. 

When it came to setting priorities for Bogotá’s future, residents used their voice to shape the future of the city. The residents wanted the government to focus on issues such as the citizens' well-being, security, climate action, territorial organization, and strengthening trust in government. Participation spread across the whole city, but three localities stood out: Kennedy led with 17,019 contributions, followed by Suba with 14,207 and Teusaquillo with 11,697. Together, the numbers showed not only what people cared about most, but also how Chatico helped bring the city’s diverse neighborhoods into the same conversation.

“Beyond improving communication, Chatico plays a growing role in policymaking by collecting insights and feedback from users. This innovative use of everyday technology reflects Bogotá’s commitment to making governance more accessible, responsive, and citizen-centered,” as Angela María Beltrán Ortega stated. 

In both campaigns, Chatico eliminated geographic and technological barriers, broadened access, and enabled thousands of people to engage with government decision-making from anywhere at any time. One participant shared: “I voted from my phone while riding the bus. I felt like my opinion mattered without having to go to a community meeting.”

“This is a great achievement for the city, allowing us to continue designing processes with citizens in mind through public innovation and technology. We thus ensure that their voices, ideas, solutions, and perceptions are taken into account in the processes of building and improving the city. Furthermore, as an administration, it allows us to continue achieving results that surpass the average of other similar processes and to continue working to improve the quality of life for all residents,” said Carlos Fernando Galán, Mayor of Bogotá.

Results from the campaign

Deliberative assemblies

Last year, in coordination with the Mayor’s Office, Fundación Corona used Chatico to invite residents to join deliberative assemblies. The process was simple; just three days after launching a public call through the platform, we had strong engagement. It made participation easy and accessible through something as familiar as a phone. “Chatico has been an incredible tool for promoting citizen participation in Bogotá. It has helped us reach people quickly, involve them in public policy discussions, and make participation truly massive across the city,” Angela. 

Angela highlighted four benefits of using Chatico so far. 

  • First, more citizens are participating in the city’s issues. 

  • Second, there’s the data. Chatico collects participant information, which provides them with insights on who is participating, where they are, and why they join. “This helps us shape better public policy and understand our citizens.”

  • Another benefit is how easily the mayor’s office can share information with people. Many citizens don’t know what’s happening in the city, but with the chatbot, in just one second, the city can reach more than 10,000 people. 

  • Lastly, for the assemblies, they used it to contact and invite over 10,000 people to deliberate. “It was fast and effective, considering Bogotá has nearly 9 or 10 million people; this is a big achievement for participation,” Angela. 

“Chatico is an incredible tool; it makes participation massive in the city and easier for citizens.” Citizens can interact with Chatico easily on their phones, making it a practical AI-powered tool to strengthen civic engagement. The success in policy consultations and assemblies shows its potential for other areas where improved citizen contact and response are needed.”

Benefits and challenges

“Maybe we still need to prove the impact of citizen participation and show this improvement in the data and future surveys. But even now, we can already see important progress. For example, if you look at the data from Bogotá Cómo Vamos, a program we manage at Corona, you’ll see it was created to monitor quality of life in the city and to conduct perception surveys asking citizens about key issues in Bogotá and other cities. Today, we have 22 Cómo Vamos programs across Colombia. By looking at this data, we can support the idea that tools like Chatico, new technologies, AI, and other innovations created to improve citizen participation do have benefits. Given that the city has around 10 million residents, it’s difficult to guarantee participation in different decision-making, but Chatico is a promising tool to involve more people in these processes,” said Armando.

However, challenges remain. As Armando notes, “the digital divide still exists, that’s why we use a hybrid process, not every citizen has access to a phone or internet, and there are governance concerns around AI use. Accessibility for people with disabilities is also an issue, since Chatico requires users to have reading and writing skills; it may not be good for populations who can’t read.” Despite these challenges, Chatico is considered an example for other cities in Colombia and shows how local governments can innovate with limited budgets.

Outcomes and recognition

Beyond the quantitative results, the use of Chatico generated strategic impacts at the institutional, social, and technological levels:

  • International recognition: Chatico was selected as a finalist in the 2024 Ibero-American Open Government Innovation Award, organized by the Union of Ibero-American Capital Cities (UCCI), for its role in democratizing citizen engagement through digital tools. 

  • Increase in digital participation: Compared to similar processes in previous years, digital participation through Chatico increased by 43%, enabling access for thousands of citizens who had not traditionally engaged in public decision-making.

  • Social inclusion: Chatico expanded participation among diverse groups:

    • Women (who made up the majority in both campaigns)

    • Youth and older adults

    • People with disabilities

    • Migrant communities and residents in rural areas. 

  • Public value and policy impact: The data collected through Chatico was not only counted but also used as evidence to inform public decisions: 

    • In the participatory budgeting campaign, the votes determined which local projects would receive funding. 

    • In the PDD consultation, citizen input was incorporated directly into the development plan’s strategic priorities.

Scalability and replicability: The model implemented through Chatico is easily replicable in other Latin American cities. Its flexible and modular architecture allows for the customization of participatory processes according to local needs and governance models.

 

Reflections and key lessons

Meet people where they already are

  • Bogotá didn’t ask residents to download a new app or learn a new platform. By building Chatico into WhatsApp and other popular channels, participation became as simple as sending a message to a friend.

Fast, simple, and accessible is best

  • Clear menus, easy questions, and instant confirmations kept people engaged. No bureaucracy, no technical barriers, providing a straightforward way to join in.

Diversity doesn’t happen by accident

  • Women, migrants, and people with disabilities participated in large numbers because the city designed Chatico with inclusion in mind. The city designed special flows, plain language, and mobile-first design to help level the field and make participation easier for those typically excluded.

Scale builds trust

  • When tens of thousands of residents used Chatico to vote or share opinions, people started seeing it as a reliable, secure channel. Success in one campaign made it easier to grow participation in the next.

Data is a participation superpower

  • Chatico didn’t just collect votes; it produced rich data on priorities, demographics, and neighborhoods. This gave policymakers real insights while showing citizens their voices were heard.

Partnerships matter

  • The project worked because city agencies, local mayors, and civil society groups all pulled in the same direction. Collaboration turned a chatbot into a citywide participation engine.

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