Mail Automation Services

Overview

Development stage

DeployedSource: c) Deployed – The use case is being actively authorized or utilized to support the functions or mission of an agency.

High-impact designation

High-impactSource: a) High-impact

Impact justification

Not reported

Start date

Not reported

Withheld from public reporting

Not reported

Mission

Topic area

Government Benefits Processing

Operational functions

Document processing and extraction Derived by keyword rules; see methodology

Problem the AI is intended to solve

Mail Automation Services (MAS) is an if-this-then that (ITTT) logic-based service which is utilized to process inbound mail across the VBA enterprise, including the receipt of claims materials from Veterans, Veteran Service Organizations, and other stakeholders. The platform ingests and reviews approximately 40k packets of information per day, primarily derived from the Centralized Mail Portal. It utilizes prescribed machine learning and Natural Language Processing (NLP), Intelligent Form Recognition (IFR), Optical Character Recognition (OCR), and Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) to extract and process data from an average of 95 fields on over 1,500 form layouts within VA’s purview.

Expected benefits

MAS has completed over 2 million actions in the 2024 calendar year to date. It completes initial intake processing actions to support workload and claims management and has led to cost savings and increased efficiency - cost savings and increased efficiency data is available upon request.

System outputs

The most common outcomes are VBA End-Product establishment within the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS) and correct business line orientation for ingested submissions. However, MAS also triggers correspondence in certain circumstances and creates or adjusts VBMS notes, tracked items, and flashes. The MAS platform runs under the Veterans Benefits Administration Automation Platform (VBAAP).

Technology

AI classification

Natural language processingSource: Natural Language Processing: AI that processes, interprets, and shares information in human language.

System name(s)

Not reported

Custom-developed code

Yes

Public source code

Not reported

Sourcing

How it was built

Purchased from vendorSource: a) Purchased from a vendor

Vendor (as reported)

Not reported

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

Not reported

Privacy Impact Assessment

Not reported

Authorization to Operate

Not reported

Demographic features

Not reported

Training and evaluation data

Not reported

Federal Data Catalog

Not reported

Governance

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

Potential impacts and how they were identified

Not reported