CPD module: AI and robotic process automation – how to use them in social housing

Conversations about the potential applications of artificial intelligence (AI) have multiplied and amplified in recent years. The launch of free-to-use chatbots and virtual assistants means more people have had the opportunity to experiment with AI technologies. This has led to interest in the applications of these techniques, including in the social housing sector.

Advocates speak of possible efficiency savings and opportunities for improved customer service. However, there are concerns about expanding the use of digital technology. Some worry that ‘robots’ are taking over. Those fears are not only related to AI, but also to robotic process automation (RPA) technology.

This CPD piece considers AI and RPA. It defines both, explains their potential applications in social housing, and considers possible sensitivities.

In so doing, it draws on experiences at Stockport Homes Group.

The term ‘artificial intelligence’ can give the sense of a sentient being, able to replicate everything of which the human mind is capable. However, the reality is quite different. AI is simply a set of structures that can process huge amounts of information and learn to identify patterns within it. These structures can then adapt their behaviour to the insight acquired, create predictions based on those patterns, and use all this to perform tasks that would traditionally require human intelligence.

AI has firmly come into the public consciousness in recent years, but these data processing algorithms are not new. They have existed for over 60 years. What is new is the capacity of computers to be able to quickly consume data and react. Computers have become faster, more powerful and more affordable.

This has led to new abilities, particularly focused on ‘generative AI’. This is AI which can create new data, having processed and analysed similar information.

Perhaps the best-known example of generative AI is ChatGPT. Launched publicly in November 2022, it had reached 100 million users by the end of January 2023. This was said to make it the fastest-growing consumer application in history. In May 2024, it was reported to have 180.5 million users monthly.

ChatGPT allows users to have human-like conversations to complete tasks. These sorts of capabilities have led to both excitement and concern in the social housing sector. Enthusiasts see ways in which social landlords could use AI to create efficiencies and deliver faster customer service.

At the same time, there are worries about the expansion of such technology. Both residents and colleagues might be nervous about its use, having seen media stories about instances of inappropriate use. That includes the recent high-profile lawsuit against Air Canada, whose AI chatbot gave incorrect information to a bereaved passenger.

It is likely that guard rails will need to be applied around its use, particularly for customer-facing interactions or tasks.

RPA is another technology that has become more prominent in recent years. This automates essential but repetitive interactions between a human and a computer – RPA can be thought of as replicating human actions, while AI attempts to replicate human thought.

The idea is that RPA bots take away non-complex but time-consuming, high-volume computing tasks, leaving humans more time to deal with tasks that really do need their expertise and skill.

Stockport Homes Group is making use of both AI and RPA. The technology is used to assist with internal efficiencies, and to complement existing approaches to the delivery of excellent customer service.

Its first RPA project was launched in January 2022 – it centres on verifying Universal Credit – and there are now around 10 automations used across the organisation.

When the programme began, the digital team ran ‘Digital Dens’, where colleagues found out about the RPA bots and suggested areas of their own work which could be improved by automation. Then the digital team created a pipeline of areas to automate with RPA. Three RPA bots are now considered digital employees and have been given human names by their colleagues.

AI is being used to assist in supporting customers struggling to pay their rent. An AI engine has been trained to recognise patterns in customer behaviour and payments. Where there is a change in behaviour, the system sends an automated message – via text or email – or alerts a colleague to check on the resident.

Strict rules have been applied to the use of the AI engine. First, customers can opt out of receiving automated messages at any time. Second, the AI will never be used to make any decisions that could result in legal proceedings on rent arrears. Finally, any customers with particular vulnerabilities do not receive any automated messages. A more personalised approach is taken for them, with contact by members of the team to ensure support is in place.

AI and RPA have also been implemented to support the finance team. Using optical character recognition, AI extracts data from invoices coming into the team. If the details are clear and correct, the AI automatically sends the invoice on to an RPA bot and it is processed. If the AI cannot recognise all the information, or if there is any other complexity, it gets put into a queue for a human member of the team to review.

AI and bots are not intended to replace human delivery of services to customers, but to add an additional layer to Stockport Homes Group’s capabilities. The delivery of any digital change that could impact a customer, including AI or RPA, undergoes an in-depth equality impact assessment to ensure customer service is not compromised.

Social landlords support some of the most vulnerable members of society, and the recent cost of living crisis has added to those vulnerabilities and increased the need for support from specialist staff.

The hope is that AI and RPA, and the two in conjunction, could enable social landlords to provide services more efficiently. Computers work quickly. In addition, having computers take over some tasks should free up human colleagues to deal with more complex issues – again, more swiftly.

This could also lead to financial efficiencies, helping landlords to contain costs in an operating environment in which funding struggles to match demand. At Stockport Homes Group, for instance, there remains a commitment to invest in not just homes, but in local communities, too. This has gone beyond the support that might typically be provided by a social landlord, expanding into the likes of food banks and furniture recycling schemes. By finding efficiencies elsewhere, including through the use of digital technology, it should be possible to invest further in these schemes.

Having formerly had a digital strategy focused on internal efficiencies, Stockport Homes Group is now increasingly focused on improvements to the customer experience. It is felt AI can play a role here but, in every instance, there will be questions about whether it is appropriate. Where a human response is likely to remain more empathetic and helpful, that action will not be diverted to a computer.

There is a belief at the organisation that all discussions about AI and RPA must be centred in a conversation about the business and its customers. If the use of technology can improve services for customers, it will be considered.

If there is any doubt about whether it will lead to customer benefit, there will be careful assessment before it is used.

Such discussions are likely to become important across society as a whole, and within the social housing sector.

There is the potential for the greater use of AI and RPA, but like any innovation, it will need to be managed with care if the biggest benefit is to be gained.

• How would you have defined AI before you began reading this article? Is it different from the way in which you would define it now? What about RPA?
• Do you know whether your own organisation is using AI and/or RPA? In what areas could it make the biggest difference to you, your colleagues and to residents?
• Do you have concerns about the greater use of AI and/or RPA? What do you think your organisation would need to do if it were to make the best, most appropriate, most ethical use of these technologies?
• What one point in this piece do you want to share with colleagues who may not have read it? How will you share it?

Increases in computing power have led to new possibilities for artificial intelligence.

Applications that use generative AI have become freely available to a general audience, and led to much speculation about the role such technology might play in modern lives. Many organisations have also begun to make increased use of RPA, in which high-volume repetitive tasks are automated and streamlined.

Both AI and RPA offer opportunities to make business processes and customer service more efficient. Advocates argue that the opportunities are significant and that AI and RPA are therefore likely to become integral to the sector.

Indeed, some social landlords have already started to introduce these technologies into day-to-day business. This includes Stockport Homes Group, where staff have found benefits from this increased use of digital technology.

However, there are sensitivities around the growth of RPA and AI. These are particularly important in customer-focused work by social landlords, given the potential vulnerabilities and complexities involved.

The success and appropriate use of RPA and AI will involve being aware of these potential sensitivities. It will be important to consider any potential risks or harms alongside any likely benefits.

Next, answer the questions below. Get all the questions correct and you will receive a certificate confirming your award of 30 CPD minutes within 10 working days via email. Get any questions wrong and you can retake the test by refreshing your web browser.

• Casey, K. (2020), The Enterprisers Project, How to explain Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in plain English 
• Information Commissioner’s Office and The Alan Turing Institute, Explaining decisions made with AI
  
• Manning, C. (2020), Artificial Intelligence Definitions
• Grobelnik, M., Perset, K., Russell, S. (2024), What is AI? Can you make a clear distinction between AI and non-AI systems?, OECD.AI Policy Observatory

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