Virtual Assistant for Benefits Access and Housing Permitting
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Maryland

Virtual Assistant for Benefits Access and Housing Permitting

Maryland residents seeking benefits, housing permits, and other essential state services have faced slow processes and fragmented application paths, with eligible families often missing programs they qualify for. Reducing child poverty and expanding housing access depend on the state's ability to deliver these services faster and more reliably.

Year added2025
Status as of Spring 2026Planning
Primary AgencyWorkforce & Labor
Approach and SolutionSome agency teams will use a Claude-powered virtual assistant to help residents apply for benefits, update their information, track applications, and identify additional programs they may qualify for, while other teams will use the technology to streamline housing permitting. The initiative is rolling out first to staff at Maryland Benefits, the Department of Labor, the Governor's Innovation Team, and the Maryland Department of the Environment, building on earlier work including a self-service portal for environmental site assessments developed with the Maryland Digital Service and Office of AI Enablement.
Tags
  • LLM Access
Who it ServesBoth (Staff and The Public)
Area of ImpactHealth & Human Services
AI Technology TypeGenerative AI, Chatbot
Level of Human OversightAI-assisted decision (human review required)

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