CASTRIES, St Lucia (CMC) — The Director General of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), Didacus Jules, has praised the work of Grenadian Joshua Andall, as the OECS formally launched an artificial intelligence (AI) powered assistant built to make information about the nine-member regional grouping more accessible to the public.

“This new assistant is proof that our geographic size does not limit our talent and capability. This chatbot was developed by Joshua Andall, a young Grenadian, and is trained to retrieve and synthesise information from official sources in the OECS, so that it can address questions, ideas and concerns of persons seeking authoritative information on matters pertaining to our regional integration arrangements.

“It is intended to transform our website from a static source of information to an interactive respondent to questions. This is equivalent to having a help desk attendant available 24/7, ready and able to respond to queries from the public,” Jules said, urging the public in the OECS member states to be patient and support the efforts to ensure that the initiative “works efficiently and effectively”.

The project is a collaboration with InnovaChat Solutions, and the chatbot is designed and developed to serve a wide range of users, including educators, tourism experts, healthcare professionals, immigration officers, diplomats, and airline agents, by offering real-time answers to questions related to regional projects, initiatives and opportunities.

The chatbot can also address general questions about mobility and rights under the OECS Free Movement of Persons Regime and the launch is one of several major activities commemorating the 44th anniversary of the OECS being observed under the theme “Adapting, Innovating, Sustaining: A Unified OECS for a Changing World”.

“I’m thrilled to see this collaboration with the OECS commission go public. This chatbot represents more than just innovation; it’s a tool for empowerment,” said Andall, the chief executive officer of InnovaChat Solutions.

“I look forward to helping citizens across the OECS region confidently navigate their rights. Ultimately, my goal is to expand the chatbot’s reach to support more OECS initiatives, especially those centred on youth mobility, entrepreneurship and regional integration,” said Andall, who currently serves on the software team for the OECS Digital Curriculum Project, aimed at transforming how education is delivered across the region.

Some of the key features of the chatbot include being accessible around the clock to answer questions about OECS rights and travel procedures, helping with accessing documents and giving guidance on eligibility criteria for OECS contingent rights, projects and opportunities, as well as being able to respond to accommodate the linguistic diversity of OECS member states.

It can also be embedded on government portals and travel-related websites and has the potential to expand into other OECS initiatives like education, trade or youth mobility.

The OECS groups the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts-Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands.