"twoday had clearly planned how the implementation would be done and how the process would proceed: what kind of information is needed, what issues need to be addressed, how the solution is tested, and so on. twoday showed interest and commitment to ensuring the project went smoothly and on schedule, and that the end product was of high quality."
- Lasse Ahonen, Tech & Architecture Lead, Hansel
About Hansel
Hansel is the joint procurement unit of the public administration in Finland, aiming to save public funds by increasing productivity throughout the public administration's procurement operations. Hansel is a non-profit limited company, with the Finnish state owning 65 percent and the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities 35 percent. Hansel's activities are based on the Hansel Act.
The AI assistant helps in searching for information on public procurements
In early 2023, Hansel became interested in the possibilities of generative artificial intelligence for operational development and began exploring the areas in which it could be used to streamline operations or create new services for customers.
Hansel considered various opportunities for AI, including in customer service. Ultimately, the first experiment chosen was to make the over 400-page manual on public procurements more user-friendly with the help of generative AI. The goal was to create an AI assistant based on the manual that could answer users' questions about its content, thus making information search easier.
"The manual on public procurements is quite long and comprehensive, so not everyone is going to read it in one evening. We thought it would be a good trial for using generative AI because it contains useful information, but it could be easier to use if you could ask it questions," says Lasse Ahonen, Hansel's Tech & Architecture lead.
The quality and ease of use of twoday's AI application stood out
Hansel wanted to increase internal understanding of different generative AI systems' functions and differences, so the task of implementing the manual on public procurements' AI assistant was given as a trial to three different partners. twoday was selected for the trial due to the previously successful collaboration projects.
At twoday, we then created our version of the manual on public procurements' AI assistant using twoday AI Agent. twoday AI Agent is a secure AI service for businesses and other organizations. It is ready-made and quickly available for use and can be integrated into an organization's own systems. The service has countless applications and is especially suited for facilitating information sharing, automating internal processes, and enhancing and automating customer service. Hansel has been satisfied with the quality of the responses and the ease of use of the backend system.
”There was variation in the quality of responses from AI assistants produced by different providers, as well as in the effort required to achieve the final result in the project. One difference was also the possibilities of using various sources of information. twoday's product seemed to be among the best in every area, if not the best. The implementation was easy and fast since not everything had to be done from scratch, but there was a ready platform to start creating assistants," Ahonen explains.
The responses from twoday's AI assistant have been high-quality, accurate, and comprehensive in tests. It is crucial for an AI assistant providing factual information to always give precise and correct responses and not start making up, for example, new monetary thresholds for procurements.
"The project itself also went well, and twoday had clearly thought through in advance how the implementation would be done and how the process would proceed: what kind of information is needed, what issues need to be addressed, how the solution is tested, and so on. Twoday showed interest and commitment to ensuring the project went smoothly and on schedule, and that the end product was of high quality," Ahonen summarizes.
Ahonen presented the results of the manual on public procurements AI assistant trial at a cloud service-themed user group organized by Microsoft, attended by representatives of various public organizations. The audience had the opportunity to test different versions of the implementation, and the feedback on our solution was positive.
"In brief conversations with some of the participants after the event, the few comments were such that twoday's version was of good quality, if not the best quality," Ahonen reports.
AI can streamline operations and save public funds
Hansel's goal is to save public funds by helping different actors make purchases more efficiently and smartly. Ahonen sees many possibilities for using AI to streamline operations in the field of public procurement, thus saving societal funds:
"By utilizing new work methods and the possibilities of AI, we can streamline operations and reduce the phases of manual work. It doesn't necessarily mean reducing staff but doing things more efficiently and smartly, allowing work time to be focused on more productive and sensible activities."
Ahonen mentions practical applications of generative AI in public procurement, such as forming tender requests and drafting contracts. From the perspective of the supplier, i.e., the service provider, Ahonen sees good opportunities for using AI, for example, in making offers and communication.
"The possibilities for using AI are everywhere, and now is the time for exploration and innovation to see where it can be applied. After finding potential applications, prioritization is needed to determine where the best and quickest benefits can be achieved," Ahonen states.