Western Bay of Plenty improves secure AI and resident self-service with Theta Products

Western Bay of Plenty District Council (WBOP) wanted a practical way to improve staff productivity and give residents faster access to accurate information. As a long-term Theta customer, the council adopted two products from Theta’s Product Group: Theta Assist for secure internal AI use and Helpfruit for customer-facing digital service.

“We wanted an AI product that was as secure and private as possible. We’re seeing a lot of benefit with Theta Assist. Literally thousands and thousands of rows of information that we would take weeks to analyse can be done in minutes.”

Richard Gilligan
Technical Operations Team Leader, WBOP

Challenges in AI enablement

Secure AI rollout

To proactively keep up with AI technology, staff needed a private and controlled platform to learn and use generative AI within a secure and private environment.

Governance

Input sources had to be manageable and trusted. Shadow AI prevention is also paramount.

Scalable GenAI solution

Over 300 staff needed a practical starting point that’s easy to adopt in their existing environment.

The solution: Theta Assist

To introduce AI safely across the organisation, Western Bay of Plenty District Council chose Theta Assist as a secure, private and controlled environment for all 300 staff. The platform gave the council control over input sources, helping teams work with trusted information rather than broad web results, and it was set up quickly with training that helped staff build confidence fast.

“It saves us so much time. It saves us hours a week from fewer phone calls, fewer emails, and less paperwork to work through. Helpfruit has been really helpful in helping us.”

Valeta Duncan
Customer and Library Services Manager, WBOP

Challenges in citizen self-service

Finding a needle in a haystack

Residents struggled to find the right answers across a large volume of council information on the website.

Poor website search results

A website search often returned long, outdated results which led to misinformation.

Service pressure

Routine questions drove calls and emails for a small support team, which lengthened response times for all queries.

The solution: Helpfruit

To improve customer self-service, WBOP implemented its Awhi chatbot on the website through Helpfruit. Awhi is set up to use content the council already has on the web, plus pre-authored answers for common questions, giving residents faster access to accurate answers while ensuring responses were grounded in approved website content. The multilingual capability also made it easier for more people to get help in their own language.

The outcomes

By adopting Theta’s software products, Theta Assist and Helpfruit, WBOP has achieved faster access to trusted information, stronger self-service for residents, significant time savings for staff, and a more secure, practical approach to AI across the organisation.

• Spearheading AI literacy: More than 300 council staff gained access to a secure, controlled platform that supports practical AI adoption cost-effectively.
• Faster data analysis: Large datasets that once took weeks can now be analysed in minutes through Theta Assist’s AI assistants.
• Savings on software: Using Theta Assist replaced the need to develop $70k worth of planning software.
• Improved resident self-service: Helpfruit has effectively answered and handled over 2,000 questions and conversations within the first few months of deployment.
• Stronger support for a small team: Hours are saved each week from reduced calls, emails, and manual answer-finding through Helpfruit’s AI-powered chatbot.
• Better website content management: Helpfruit’s weekly insights highlight missing answers, helping WBOP update website content efficiently while keeping responses grounded in approved sources.

Working with Theta

With Theta Assist and Helpfruit, Western Bay of Plenty District Council improved secure AI adoption, resident self-service, and access to trusted information. The result is a practical approach that helps staff work faster while making it easier for residents to get the answers they need.