New AI chatbot by ST’s Headstart to answer your career-related questions

SINGAPORE – Say hello to a new virtual mentor that can speak Singlish, tell you how to dress on your first day at work, and give career advice round the clock.

It is The Straits Times’

first artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot

, which answers questions from readers on career-related topics – from which industries pay the best in Singapore, to tips on relieving stress at work.

Developed by SPH Media and ST with support from Amazon Web Services (AWS), the career bot draws content from an archive of more than 5,000 ST articles related to jobs, careers and working life that were published from Jan 1, 2020.

ST’s new chatbot was created as the media outlet’s product and technology team felt a bot would present information to readers in a “snappy and casual format”, said team head and ST associate editor Ong Hwee Hwee.

At the same time, the Headstart team had been looking for new ways to deliver career-related content to its younger audience, she added.

Headstart is an initiative to engage ST’s young adult audience on topics that matter to them, with career being one of its content pillars alongside money and lifestyle.

The bot answers all sorts of questions about topics such as working life, job trends and career growth. For instance, when asked what employees should do if their bosses were to request to follow them on Instagram, the chatbot quickly reinforced the importance of maintaining professional boundaries.

“Remember, they are still your superior and what you share on social media could impact how they perceive you professionally,” replied the bot. It even provided a link to a relevant ST article at the end of its answer. 

The bot sticks strictly to giving career advice. When asked about the release date for the third movie of blockbuster film series Dune, the bot politely replied that “as a career adviser”, it was unable to provide details on upcoming movie screenings.

Building the bot took about three months, during which the development team had to test it many times to ensure that its responses were accurate, relevant and met journalistic standards, said Ms Ong.

The career bot uses Amazon Bedrock, AWS’ service for building and scaling generative AI apps, and currently runs on Anthropic’s large language model Claude 3.5 Sonnet.

AWS Singapore country manager Priscilla Chong said the bot makes career guidance more immediate and personalised as readers can engage in natural conversations that promptly surface relevant insights, rather than having to navigate through multiple articles.

It also exemplifies how news organisations, including SPH Media, can use generative AI to give readers a better experience while maintaining editorial integrity, added Ms Chong.

The chatbot is not all work and no play, though. It can reply in Singlish or imitate fictional characters such as Transformers’ Optimus Prime or beloved cartoon character SpongeBob.

On allowing superiors at work to follow you on social media, the bot, when told to imitate the Pokemon Pikachu, said: “Pika pika! Chu chu! (That’s a tricky situation, friend!) Remember your boss is still your boss, even outside work... Remember, it’s okay to set boundaries! Pika pi!”

Ms Chong said: “Through natural conversation, users can explore professional development opportunities at any time, making career guidance more accessible and engaging than ever before.”

The bot is free to use and more features may be added at a later date. It can be found

here

, or on the Headstart navigation bar on both the ST website and mobile application.

Ms Ong hopes the bot can help ST’s younger audience to figure out career choices and navigate the workplace by providing relevant tips and advice drawn from interviews with experts.

“It can be stressful for young people who have just started working. Not all have mentors they can turn to for advice,” said Ms Ong, adding that she hopes the chatbot can fill this gap.

“Have a question about your job? Ask away!”