SSA · no agency ID · record R3112

Therapy Chatbot - Text-Based Mental Health Support for SSA Employees

Social Security Administration · Human Resources

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: Not high-impactSource: c) Not high-impact
Impact justification: Not reported
Start date: 2023-09-01 (day precision)Source: 9/1/2023 0:00
Withheld from public reporting: NoSource: a) No

Mission

Topic area: Health and Medical
Operational functions: Chatbot or virtual assistant Derived by keyword rules; see methodology

Problem the AI is intended to solve

This AI use case is a therapy chatbot that employees can access on their own personal devices and is designed to provide confidential, immediate mental health support to employees, helping address stress, emotional challenges, and limited access to traditional counseling services.

Expected benefits

The chatbot promotes employee well-being, reduces stress, and enhances resilience, which supports a healthier workforce and improves overall agency performance and public service delivery.

System outputs

The chatbot delivers real-time emotional support, personalized coping strategies, wellness recommendations, and alerts to live counselors when needed.

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): Espyr/Acentra
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: No
Demographic features: Not reported
Training and evaluation data: No Agency data used for training
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.

Pre-deployment testingNo answer reported

AI impact assessmentNo answer reported

Independent reviewNo answer reported

Ongoing monitoringNo answer reported

Operator trainingNo answer reported

Fail-safeNo answer reported

Appeal processNo answer reported

User and public consultationNo answer reported

Potential impacts and how they were identified

Not reported