More and more city halls, hospitals, and government agencies in Romania are adding a virtual assistant to their websites. Citizens ask the same questions day after day: what documents they need, what the hours are, where to pay fees, and how to make an appointment. An AI chatbot can answer all these questions at any time, drawing on the institution\u2019s official documents, leaving staff with more time for the cases that truly require their attention.<\/p>\n
For a public institution, however, the process of selecting a chatbot is governed by different rules than those for a private company: transparency toward citizens, data protection, accessibility for people with disabilities, and a fair procurement process. In this guide, we explain what a chatbot can do for an institution, what it should not do, what legal requirements matter, and how to purchase one.<\/p>\n
In a nutshell<\/strong><\/p>\n In the first few months of 2026 alone, several public examples emerged:<\/p>\n The examples illustrate two different approaches. Some institutions develop large-scale projects with many modules through a competitive bidding process. Others start with a single initiative\u2014an assistant who answers citizens\u2019 frequently asked questions, contracted as a service.<\/p>\n Most of the questions we receive by phone or at the service counter are repetitive. An AI assistant trained on the institution's documents can handle a large portion of them:<\/p>\n The assistant is available at any time\u2014including evenings and weekends\u2014in Romanian and, if necessary, in other languages. For institutions in areas with minority communities or many foreign visitors, this is important.<\/p>\n Equally important is what a chatbot in a public institution does not do:<\/p>\n The last point is the most important. An incorrect answer regarding a deadline or a required document can cost a citizen time and money. That is why the chatbot\u2019s architecture matters more than the \u201eintelligence\u201d of the model behind it.<\/p>\n Starting August 2, 2026, the AI Act requires any AI system that interacts directly with people to disclose this fact no later than the first interaction. For an institution, this rule is also a matter of trust: citizens must be able to clearly distinguish between a response from an AI assistant and an official communication. We have explained the rules in detail in the guide The AI Act and Chatbots: What Romanian Companies Need to Do<\/a>.<\/p>\n People share personal information in chat: names, social security numbers, addresses, health issues, and social circumstances. The GDPR fully applies to these conversations. Before choosing a provider, the institution must determine:<\/p>\n For hospitals, social services agencies, or emergency services\u2014where data is often sensitive\u2014processing the data in Romania, or at least within the European Union, greatly simplifies discussions with the data protection officer.<\/p>\n Public institution websites must be accessible to people with disabilities, in accordance with Government Emergency Ordinance No. 112\/2018, which transposes the European directive on the accessibility of public sector websites. The chat window is part of the website, so it must be usable via the keyboard, with screen readers, and with enlarged text. It is worth explicitly requesting this from the provider.<\/p>\n Whenever an assistant is unable to answer a question, they must provide the contact information for the appropriate department or arrange for another staff member to take over the conversation. The example from Lumina illustrates this principle exactly: the assistant provides information; the person makes the decision.<\/p>\n A purchase depends on the value and on what exactly is being bought.<\/p>\n Subscription service, low cost.<\/strong> A chatbot contracted as a monthly or annual service typically has a total value below the threshold for direct procurement. As of this writing, Law No. 98\/2016 allows for the direct procurement of goods and services when the estimated value, excluding VAT, is less than 132,519 lei. The procurement can be made through the SEAP electronic catalog after the supplier publishes the offer. The thresholds are updated periodically, so the value must be verified at the time of procurement.<\/p>\n A large, multi-component project.<\/strong> When the chatbot is part of a broader digitization project (software robots, document management, integrations with other systems)\u2014as is the case in Blaj\u2014the value typically exceeds the threshold, and a competitive bidding process with specifications is required.<\/p>\n Regardless of the option, there are a few things worth including in the specifications or the order:<\/p>\n I've written extensively about how a chatbot's price is determined and what hidden costs are worth checking in How Much Will an AI Chatbot for a Website Cost in 2026?<\/a>.<\/p>\n Do you work at a city hall, a hospital, or a government agency?<\/strong> Intel Logic chatbots respond only based on the institution's documents; they state in their first message that they are AI assistants and run on their own servers in Oradea, so the data remains in Romania. View the packages and try out the chatbot<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Intel Logic chatbots are already in use at public institutions and hospitals in Romania, including the Timi\u0219 Public Health Department, the Satu Mare General Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection, and the Piatra Neam\u021b County Emergency Hospital.<\/p>\n Any system can make mistakes. The risk is greatly reduced when the assistant responds only based on the institution\u2019s official documents, clearly states when it doesn\u2019t know an answer, and refers the user to a staff member. That is why internal testing before launch and content updates are essential.<\/p>\n No. They handle repetitive questions\u2014the ones with the same answer every time\u2014and free up time for staff to focus on complicated cases. All the institutions in the examples above have made it clear that assistants do not replace staff.<\/p>\n It depends on the provider. The institution must know where the conversations are processed, how long they are retained, and whether they are used to train other models, and these details must be included in the data processing agreement and the website\u2019s privacy policy.<\/p>\n Not necessarily. A subscription-based chatbot service usually falls below the threshold for direct procurement and can be purchased through the SEAP e-catalog. For large, multi-component projects, a competitive bidding process is required.<\/p>\n For a public institution, an AI chatbot isn\u2019t just a gimmick\u2014it\u2019s a way to respond more quickly to the questions citizens ask every day. It works well when it draws only on official sources, clearly states that it is an AI, protects data, and always provides a way to speak with a human. When these conditions are met, it can be launched quickly and without a costly project.<\/p>\n If you'd like to see what an assistant trained on your organization's documents would look like, Write to us<\/a>.<\/p>\n This information is current as of the date of publication. Procurement thresholds and legal requirements are subject to change; please check the regulations in effect at the time of procurement.<\/em><\/p>\n What an AI chatbot can do for a city hall, a hospital, or a government agency; what legal requirements apply; and how to purchase one through SEAP.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8927,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":19,"footnotes":""},"categories":[123],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ghiduri-chatbot-ai"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/intellogic.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/intellogic.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/intellogic.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intellogic.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intellogic.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/intellogic.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intellogic.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/intellogic.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intellogic.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/intellogic.ai\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
What's Already Happening in Romania<\/h2>\n
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What a chatbot can do for a public institution<\/h2>\n
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What They Shouldn't Do<\/h2>\n
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Four Mandatory Requirements for an Institutional Chatbot<\/h2>\n
1. Transparency: Citizens must know that they are speaking with an AI<\/h3>\n
2. Data Protection: Where Do Conversations End Up?<\/h3>\n
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3. Accessibility<\/h3>\n
4. A Path to a Person<\/h3>\n
How a Public Institution Purchases a Chatbot<\/h2>\n
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What the implementation looks like, step by step<\/h2>\n
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Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2>\n
Can a chatbot give the wrong answer?<\/h3>\n
Are chatbots replacing customer service representatives?<\/h3>\n
What happens to the personal information shared in chat?<\/h3>\n
Should a bidding process be organized?<\/h3>\n
Conclusion<\/h2>\n
Read more<\/h2>\n
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Sources<\/h2>\n
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