DICT Launches eGov AI on the eGovPH App, With a Free Assistant 'Kuya A'

Philippine Government Launches eGov AI on the eGovPH App, With a Free Assistant Named Kuya A

The DICT added 11 AI services to its superapp on September 22, giving Filipinos free help with documents, translation, and government transactions.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology launched eGov AI, a set of free artificial intelligence tools built into the eGovPH superapp, on September 22. The centerpiece is a virtual assistant called Kuya A that answers questions about government services and helps users complete transactions, according to the DICT.

The assistant anchors a lineup of 11 services. Kuya A handles conversational queries about government processes, real-time mapping of tourism sites, and farming guidance such as soil quality and planting seasons. The suite also covers translation for Philippine languages, image identification, document extraction, speech drafting, coding help, a health assistant, a laws and regulations assistant, and identity verification. A weather forecasting feature is still to come, the DICT said.

DICT Secretary Henry Aguda said the launch pulls public services into one place. "We are bringing government services together in one digital platform, and with the launch of eGovAI, we are taking another step forward," Aguda said. He added that privacy and security stay central to the rollout, and that "accessibility and accountability must remain part of the process."

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., in a message delivered on his behalf at the launch, framed the tools as a way to widen access. "Let us give Filipinos greater access to the tools they need to learn, participate and prosper," the message said.

The DICT built eGov AI with its own developers, powered by Google's Gemini models, according to Philstar. The launch fits the government's Philippine AI+ Infrastructure Masterplan, which targets $34.4 billion in investment through 2033 and aims to reskill 1.3 million Filipinos for AI-related work.

For business owners, the practical draw is the paperwork. Registering a company, renewing permits, and checking government requirements have long meant queues and repeat trips to agencies. Document extraction and identity verification inside the app could cut the back-and-forth for sole proprietors and small firms that handle their own compliance. The translation feature also lowers a barrier for entrepreneurs outside Metro Manila who work in regional languages rather than English or Filipino. Free access matters here, since the tools carry no charge and sit inside an app many Filipinos already use for the national ID and other services.

The tourism mapping and farming guidance point at two sectors that employ large numbers of Filipinos, and operators in travel and agriculture may find early uses once the features settle.

The test now is reliability. Government chatbots live or die on accurate answers, and Kuya A will be judged on how well it handles real queries about permits, taxes, and benefits rather than generic replies. Aguda's promise on privacy will also draw scrutiny, given the volume of personal data that flows through identity verification and document handling. Business owners should try the assistant on a low-stakes task first, confirm any answer against the responsible agency, and watch for the weather feature and further services the DICT said are coming.