Bot to the rescue: Fighting the Covid-19 pandemic with modern technology

By entering just the mobile number with a quick OTP verification on the website with one’s state and district, the system will notify the registrant with the right and information

The second wave of Covid-19 pandemic has overrun hospitals and other life-saving supplies today. Bengaluru-based automation platform Verloop.io has joined the battle to fight against the devastating pandemic; it has deployed a conversational WhatsApp bot for finding oxygen cylinders in the city. “Verloop.io is helping in the procurement and distribution of oxygen cylinders. This will aid patients from underprivileged backgrounds, as they await beds at hospitals,” says the company CEO & founder, Gaurav Singh. The company is also working on a dedicated website to help find vaccine slots.

Basically, Verloop.io is forming a communication highway between those who need oxygen and those who have it, including individuals and hospitals—by bringing in a bot-powered efficiency to the system. It is working with medical manufacturers, NGOs, charities, food delivery networks, organisations, and groups associated with Covid-19 care, to build an “information bot” on WhatsApp.

The company has collaborated with KVN Foundation, which is working to provide emergency oxygen support. The programme is currently active in Bengaluru and Mumbai and is looking to expand to other cities as well. Verloop.io has provided a WhatsApp automation bot that enables KVN Foundation to get the right resources to those in need on time. “KVN Foundation’s Mission Million Air bot is powered by Verloop.io- +91 8047107750. A person seeking any kind of help such as oxygen, a hospital bed, or any medical supply, just needs to send a ‘Hi’ on WhatsApp to the number, and the bot will help in mobilising resources and help people get what they need,” says Singh.

The Verloop.io CEO says through this conversational bot, the company handled more than 500 oxygen cylinder queries and helped most people get access to what they were looking for. The Million Air campaign raised Rs 40 lakh donation in which Verloop.io bot-generated 50-plus donor queries from more than seven countries including from US, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Verloop.io has also opened its platform free-of-cost to NGOs and other institutions which are working to provide Covid-care.

According to Singh, as India fights the coronavirus pandemic, there is a genuine scarcity of vaccine-related information. Towards this, Verloop.io is working on a website to help people with regard to vaccine availability, vaccine centres, date and time when the vaccination drive is being organised.

“The website will be using the government’s Sethu API and CoWIN open API to solve deliver relevant and timely information in regards to the vaccination drive. By entering just the mobile number with a quick OTP verification on the website with one’s state and district, the system will notify the registrant with the right and information,” says Singh.

Even for its employees, Verloop.io has been organising sessions on anxiety management, yoga as well as relaxing sessions with stand-up acts, so that they will be able to cope with this second wave better. Furthermore, the company has provided Covid insurance as well as vaccine reimbursement to its employees.

Verloop.io is a fast-growing customer support automation platform that enables businesses to deliver engaging support experiences to their customers across channels. It builds bots for brand’s websites, apps, and social media – WhatsApp, Line, Telegram, Twitter and Instagram included.

It is used by over 5,000 brands globally, including Decathlon, Dar Al Arkan, Fetchr, Livpure, Adani Capital, DSP Mutual Fund, Rentomojo, Scripbox, and many more. Verloop.io was founded by Gaurav Singh in 2015 and is promoted by GrowthStory, the venture-builder platform founded by serial entrepreneurs K Ganesh and Meena Ganesh.