IRS expands use of chatbots to help answer questions on key notices
WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today announced the availability of expanded chatbot technology to help quickly answer basic questions for people receiving notices about possibly underreporting their taxes.
The new chatbot feature will assist taxpayers who receive notices CP2000, CP2501 and CP3219A. These mailings inform taxpayers if the tax information the IRS received from third parties doesn’t match the information they provided themselves to the IRS.
This technology expansion is supported through the Inflation Reduction Act funding to transform the IRS and improve services to help taxpayers.
“Through our transformation efforts, we are working to expand technologies to help taxpayers and tax professionals interact with us in the ways they prefer, including expanded digital, phone and in-person assistance options,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “We understand receiving a notice from the IRS can be concerning, and people frequently have questions. The use of chatbots in call centers has emerged as an effective practice in both the private and public sectors, making it easier for people to quickly get basic information to resolve their issues and avoid wait times on the phone. Deploying chatbots at the IRS call center helps taxpayers get their issues resolved quicker, and it helps free up valuable phone resources for other taxpayers with questions on more complex issues.”
Rollout of this chatbot builds on prior IRS successes using the technology to help improve taxpayer service. Since January 2022, IRS voice and chatbots, both in English and Spanish, helped more than 13 million taxpayers avoid wait times by resolving their tax issues, including setting up roughly $151 million in payment agreements.
The chatbot simulates human interaction with taxpayers through a web or mobile app on a computer or mobile screen by responding to questions or requests in a chat feature. Also, at the end of the conversation, taxpayers can press the “representative” button to speak to a live assistor.
The new IRS chatbot is available to help taxpayers with questions such as:
- What to do if they received a notice.
- What to do if they need more time to respond to a notice.
- How to find out if the IRS received their response.
The IRS plans to continue additional bot technology features in the future to assist taxpayers with more complex issues.
The IRS transformation efforts provided by Inflation Reduction Act Funding are outlined in the Strategic Operating Plan released in April.
AUTHOR: IRS
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