Chatbot AI Powered - Taxation External Facing Intelligent Agent

Background
The Ohio Department of Taxation is seeking to implement an AI-powered chatbot to enhance the taxpayer experience on tax.ohio.gov. The goal of this contract is to provide a Natural Language powered Intelligent Agent for both individual and business taxpayers, enabling secure controls and improving customer experience.

Work Details
The contractor will be responsible for the implementation of an AI-powered chatbot that includes the following services:
- Development of a Natural Language Processing (NLP) based intelligent agent embedded into tax.ohio.gov.
- Integration capabilities with internal systems via secure APIs (HTTPS).
- The chatbot must support omni-channel capabilities for future enhancements, including live chat, call, text, email, and mobile app interactions.
- The solution should utilize existing knowledge bases hosted in Snowflake within the Taxation environment and be capable of synthesizing answers from these sources.
- The chatbot will not require user authentication but must ensure that each chat session is secured and audited.
- The contractor must provide post-launch technical support and application tuning for a period of six months following deployment.

Period of Performance
The contract is expected to commence on May 1, 2026, with an estimated project duration of 11 weeks for implementation followed by 6 months of post-launch support.

Place of Performance
The services will be performed primarily at the Ohio Department of Taxation's facilities or remotely as agreed upon, with a preference for on-site work.

Bidder Requirements
Vendors are required to perform 100% of the work onshore; no offshore resources are allowed. Vendors must demonstrate experience implementing AI chatbots for state or local agencies, although comparable private sector experience may also be considered. The budget for this contract is not to exceed $300,000.