Sportellino: AI Chatbot Helping Migrants Navigate Italian Bureaucracy

• Sportellino is a multilingual, AI-powered chatbot designed to help migrants in Italy navigate complex bureaucratic procedures.
• Launched in July 2025, the tool provides anonymous, 24/7 assistance via WhatsApp and Telegram without collecting personal data.
• It serves as a complementary resource to human help desks, reducing the burden of repetitive inquiries on migrant support centers.

Project Background and Functionality

• Developed within the Master’s program in Migration and Development at Sapienza University of Rome, it addresses the language and information barriers faced by new arrivals.
• The chatbot uses a knowledge base built from official regulations, verified by cultural mediators and social workers.
• It supports multiple languages, including English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Farsi, Pashto, and Ukrainian.
• As of March 2026, the service has reached approximately 10,000 users.

Impact and Human-AI Collaboration

• Rather than replacing human support, the tool manages common FAQs, allowing human operators to focus on complex cases requiring personalized intervention.
• One success story involved a Nigerian man who used the chatbot to identify labor exploitation and was subsequently guided to a local protection network.
• The team comprises a diverse, international group to ensure cultural and linguistic relevance.

Comparison with Institutional Tools

• The Italian Ministry of Labor launched its own generative AI assistant (PIM) in March 2026 for its integration portal.
• Sportellino organizers view official initiatives as positive signs of growing digital inclusion.
• Unlike institutional bots, which are often limited to specific ministry services, Sportellino emphasizes a bottom-up approach to address the broad, everyday needs of migrants.