How the Kansas Department of Labor has implemented AI to make it easier to file for unemployment

Until a couple of years ago, the software running the state unemployment insurance platform in Kansas hadn’t been updated since the 1970s. Customer service agents had to keep five screens open at once while trying to help people filing for unemployment compensation; one of the tools was so old that it wasn’t even possible to use a mouse, and agents had to type commands into a command line. At night, the whole system had to shut down for batch processing, so if someone who’d lost their job tried to submit a claim at 9 p.m., they’d be frustrated to find that it wouldn’t work. The system finally got a revamp at the end of 2024—and now it’s continuously improving because of the implementation of artificial intelligence tools. Internal chatbots help customer service agents answer complicated questions from claimants or employers more quickly. “By design, unemployment insurance is extremely complex, and every claim is like a fingerprint—it’s unique,” says Amber Shultz, Kansas secretary of Labor, who has been leading the Department of Labor’s technological evolution. The AI tool searches internal information, forms, and other resources in real time while an agent is on the phone. To buil…