Director-General launches CertusCare Pilot, embracing AI for a modern workforce

Rome - The FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, today launched the FAO CertusCare, the Organization's new AI-powered Human Resource (HR) chatbot. This initiative marks a significant step in FAO's ongoing journey toward digital transformation, which started in 2019, gained momentum during the pandemic, and has since evolved to leverage the capabilities of artificial intelligence.

“It is a pleasure to be with you today as we take another important step forward in our journey from Digital FAO to a fresh face with AI driving FAO,” he said to FAO personnel across the globe from headquarters in Rome to decentralized country offices.

Emphasizing the rapid advancement of AI technology, the Director-General remarked that “The AI generation has come!” This sentiment reflects the increasing integration of AI into daily life and work, a trend that FAO is keen to embrace for the benefit of its employees.

The introduction of CertusCare symbolizes FAO's commitment to innovation, service excellence, and modernization. Developed collaboratively by the FAO Human Resources Division, Digital FAO, and Agro-Informatics teams, the chatbot aims to reimagine workplace interactions by embedding intelligence and accessibility into daily operations.

“It reflects a collaborative spirit, a user-centered design, and a clear vision for the future,” the Director-General explained. “It is multilingual, mobile-friendly, and integrated into our digital workplace, ensuring that support is always available 24 hours a day across all FAO offices around the world.”

The name CertusCare combines the Latin word ‘certus,’ meaning “reliable” and “assured,” with “care,” reflecting FAO's human-centered approach to HR services. As the Director-General noted from a Chinese proverb that “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” encouraging colleagues to embrace this bold innovation.

While acknowledging the challenges that come with emerging technologies, the Director-General emphasized the importance of maintaining human oversight and managing risks associated with AI. “We are committed to learning, improving, and expanding this initiative together, with transparency and trust,” he stated.

In closing, he highlighted the opportunities presented by the AI generation as benchmark for innovation within the international community. “Let us embrace the new opportunity of the AI generation to lead by example, not only within FAO, but across the UN system, as we build a smarter, more reliable, and more caring ONE FAO for all.”

FAO CertusCare is a multilingual, AI-powered chatbot seamlessly integrated into Microsoft Teams, offering FAO employees instant, around-the-clock access to critical Human Resources social security information, such as pensions, medical insurance, and service-incurred compensation.

It significantly improves the user experience by providing answers through a natural, conversational interface, dramatically reducing response times. The platform is strategically designed for rapid expansion across all HR functions and policies, bringing HR services closer to colleagues worldwide and further advancing FAO’s commitment to a more accessible, responsive, and digitally empowered workplace.