EAC · EAC-1 · record R2063

AI Answers in Clearinghouse Network

Election Assistance Commission · Clearinghouse Division

Overview

Development stage: PilotSource: b) Pilot – The use case has been deployed in a limited test or pilot capacity.
High-impact designation: Not high-impactSource: c) Not high-impact
Impact justification: Not reported
Start date: 2025-08-01 (day precision)Source: 08/01/2025 00:00:00
Withheld from public reporting: NoSource: a) No

Mission

Topic area: Service Delivery
Operational functions: Chatbot or virtual assistant Derived by keyword rules; see methodology

Problem the AI is intended to solve

AI Answers is a chatbot integrated into the Civic Roundtable platform that allows election officials to query AI about discussions and resources within the Clearinghouse Network. It provides a natural language method for navigating community content without searching the broader internet.

Expected benefits

This tool improves access to EAC-provided resources, reduces barriers to finding relevant content, and enables election officials to quickly locate discussions, documents, and guidance within the Clearinghouse Network.

System outputs

Natural-language answers, summaries of discussions, and links to on-platform documents/resources.

Technology

AI classification: Generative AISource: Generative AI: AI that generates new or synthetic content (e.g., images, videos, audio, text, code).
System name(s): Not reported
Custom-developed code: No
Public source code: Not reported

Sourcing

How it was built: Purchased from vendorSource: a) Purchased from a vendor
Vendor (as reported): Civic Roundtable
Vendors (standardized): None on the standard list

A vendor is the supplier named by the agency. It does not identify the underlying model or AI technology.

Data and privacy

Involves PII: Yes
Privacy Impact Assessment: Not reported
Authorization to Operate: Not reported
Demographic features: k) None of the above
Training and evaluation data: General descriptions only; AI Answers uses on-platform content provided by Civic Roundtable and participating users. It does not train on EAC data, external data, or internet sources.
Federal Data Catalog: Not reported

Governance

3 of 8 minimum-practice questions answered. A blank answer means the agency reported nothing; it does not mean the practice is absent.

Pre-deployment testingReported in placeSource: a) Yes

AI impact assessmentNo answer reported

Independent reviewReported not in placeSource: No

Ongoing monitoringNo answer reported

Operator trainingNo answer reported

Fail-safeNo answer reported

Appeal processNo answer reported

User and public consultationReported in placeSource: Direct usability testing and vendor-led focus groupsFlag: free-text answer

Potential impacts and how they were identified

Not reported