Case Study: London Borough of Redbridge reduces call volumes with IBM Watson AI chatbot

Cleaning up the streets with an AI-powered chatbot

The London Borough of Redbridge, a local government focused on improving resident services, faced a surge in calls about rubbish collection dates, especially around the Christmas holiday. To simplify communication and reduce pressure on its contact center, it worked with IBM and IBM Watson technology to create an AI-powered chatbot called Binbot.

IBM and its partner EscalateAI implemented Binbot using IBM watsonx Assistant, with IBM Watson Tone Analyzer and Visual Recognition to answer waste-collection questions, escalate complex conversations, and let residents report dumped rubbish with photos. The solution cut call volumes by 25%, handled about 1,600 chatbot conversations in a single day, and earned roughly a 95% positive satisfaction rate, while also helping enforcement teams respond more proactively.

London Borough of Redbridge

Emeran Saigol

Head of Change