New digital biosecurity officer

In a sign of the times, a digital biosecurity officer is helping international visitors at Auckland Airport.

Vai – which stands for Virtual Assistant Interface – will increase biosecurity awareness and take some of the load off frontline officers during peak times by answering queries. She can answer simple biosecurity questions such as what items need to be declared for inspection and uses a database of queries and answers that is constantly updated.

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) started trialling Vai earlier this month in the biosecurity arrivals area. Look out for her next time you travel!

Read more about the technology behind Vai and the trial here.