# Talking Open Data

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a natural language chatbot interface for open data portals on popular messaging platforms, making data exploration more engaging and accessible for a broader audience.

## Contribution

It presents a novel chatbot-based interface supporting natural language queries for open data, enhancing user engagement and accessibility.

## Key findings

- Prototype available on Facebook and Skype
- Increased user engagement potential
- Facilitates viral dissemination of open data exploration

## Abstract

Enticing users into exploring Open Data remains an important challenge for the whole Open Data paradigm. Standard stock interfaces often used by Open Data portals are anything but inspiring even for tech-savvy users, let alone those without an articulated interest in data science. To address a broader range of citizens, we designed an open data search interface supporting natural language interactions via popular platforms like Facebook and Skype. Our data-aware chatbot answers search requests and suggests relevant open datasets, bringing fun factor and a potential of viral dissemination into Open Data exploration. The current system prototype is available for Facebook (https://m.me/OpenDataAssistant) and Skype (https://join.skype.com/bot/6db830ca-b365-44c4-9f4d-d423f728e741) users.