United Kingdom, Merseyside
Merseyside Police
Bobbi AI virtual assistant (non-emergency enquiries)
OperationalJournalismPAI-91DC5BCB
- Body
- Merseyside Police
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Area
- Merseyside
- Technology
- Bobbi AI virtual assistant (non-emergency enquiries)
- Supplier
- Not stated in the source
- Status
- Operational
In routine use by the named body, on the evidence of a public source. - Stage
- In use now
- Since
- Not known
- Legal basis
- Not stated in the source
- Oversight
- Not stated in the source
- Evidence
- Journalism
Named reporting by a reputable outlet - Source
- Resultsense, 11 September 2026 (citing BBC)
- Last checked
- Record code
PAI-91DC5BCB
Notes
Resultsense reported on 11 September 2026, from a BBC local radio interview with Superintendent Tony Fairhurst, that Merseyside Police had launched a chatbot called Bobbi on its website. It asks whether the situation is an emergency, directs those who say yes to 999, and otherwise collects details and routes the enquiry. The force handles roughly 2,000 calls a day and estimates that about 20 per cent (around 400 contacts) could be resolved without an operator. Fairhurst said the tool is "trained to understand and interpret how people are feeling" and escalates distressed users to a human digital operator or to 999. The source does not name a supplier or give a launch date. Thames Valley Police, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary and Humberside Police use a Bobbi assistant built on Salesforce Agentforce; whether Merseyside's tool is the same product is not stated.
Other systems used by Merseyside Police
| Deployment | Country | Supplier | Since | Status | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merseyside PoliceLive Facial Recognition | United KingdomMerseyside, including Southport and Birkenhead town centres | — | 2025 | Operational | |
| Merseyside PoliceOperator-initiated (handheld) facial recognition | United KingdomMerseyside | — | — | Trial |
Bobbi AI virtual assistant (non-emergency enquiries) elsewhere in United Kingdom
See them in the tracker| Deployment | Country | Supplier | Since | Status | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home OfficeAI 101 call routing and triage | United KingdomEngland and Wales | Home Office and NPCC with Vodafone Business | 2026 | Trial | |
| South Yorkshire PoliceAI Emergency and Non-Emergency Call Triage | United KingdomSouth Yorkshire | Home Office and NPCC, with Vodafone Business | 2026 | Operational | |
| Thames Valley PoliceAI Emergency and Non-Emergency Call Triage | United KingdomThames Valley | Salesforce (Agentforce 360 platform), according to Salesforce | 2025 | Operational | |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight ConstabularyAI Emergency and Non-Emergency Call Triage | United KingdomHampshire and Isle of Wight | Salesforce (Agentforce 360 platform), according to Salesforce | 2025 | Operational | |
| Staffordshire PoliceAI Emergency and Non-Emergency Call Triage | United KingdomStaffordshire | Salesforce (platform) | 2026 | Proposed | |
| Cumbria ConstabularyAI 101 call routing | United KingdomCumbria | Home Office and NPCC, with Vodafone Business | 2026 | Operational | |
| Humberside PoliceBobbi AI virtual assistant | United KingdomHumberside | Salesforce (Agentforce platform) | 2025 | Trial | |
| Cambridgeshire ConstabularyCitizen Assist AI online crime reporting | United KingdomCambridgeshire | — | 2026 | Trial | |
| West Midlands PoliceAndi-Esra AI voice assistant for 101 calls | United KingdomWest Midlands | TTEC Digital and AWS, with West Midlands Police (per Police Science magazine) | 2024 | Operational | |
| South Yorkshire PoliceBobbi AI chatbot (non-emergency enquiries) | United KingdomSouth Yorkshire | — | 2026 | Operational | |
| Nottinghamshire PoliceAI 101 call routing (pilot) | United KingdomNottinghamshire | Home Office and NPCC, with Vodafone Business | — | Trial |