Catholic Charities USA : AI Assistant Chatbot
The Arizona State University Artificial Intelligence Cloud Innovation Center, powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS), collaborated with Catholic Charities USA to create an AI-powered chatbot designed to unify access to service information across the organization’s network. By centralizing fragmented data from subsidiary websites, the chatbot achieved more than 90 percent accuracy in service responses and positive user feedback during testing. Built on AWS serverless technologies, the solution delivers scalability, automation and efficiency, enhancing both staff collaboration and community access to services .
Problem
Catholic Charities USA faced challenges in providing consistent access to service information because content was spread across multiple subsidiary websites. This made it difficult for both employees and community members to locate accurate information quickly. The lack of a unified system also placed added pressure on staff, who had to spend significant time responding to routine inquiries.
The organization needed a centralized, reliable and scalable way to unify service knowledge while reducing staff workload.
Student Spotlight
The AI CIC is powered by ASU student workers. The following students collaborated with AWS mentors to design and develop this solution:
Role: Cloud Developer | Connect with Ridham on LinkedIn
Experience: I worked as a full-stack web developer to create a smart chatbot to help people easily access services from Catholic Charities USA. My role involved designing and building both the frontend and backend of the application, which allowed users to find information and support effortlessly. During the project, I gained valuable skills in integrating natural language processing into a web interface and enhanced my expertise with technologies like React for the frontend and Node.js for the backend. I also learned to build secure and user-friendly systems, focusing on smooth data flow between components. I encountered challenges such as ensuring the chatbot provided accurate responses and designing an intuitive user experience that met users' needs. Overcoming these obstacles helped me grow as a developer and problem-solver. This experience taught me the importance of adaptability and putting the user first. The solution we developed made it simpler for people to access charity resources, proving how thoughtful technology can positively impact a community.
Role: UI/UX designer | Connect with Shristi on LinkedIn
Experience: As a UI/UX designer for this project, I knew I was not just designing an intelligent chatbot interface, I was helping create a small bridge between people and the support they are searching for. I began by researching the organization’s mission, reviewing their website, and understanding how its membership organizations shared information. I then created wireframes in Figma to establish clean, focused user flows that minimized cognitive load while reflecting Catholic Charities’ visual identity. The design was refined through testing, feedback, and close collaboration with the team, always guided by accessibility, clarity, and empathy for the user.
From this project, I learned something very essential, something that I will always carry with me: that even the quietest design decisions can make someone’s day a little easier. And that, to me, is the real power of design.
Approach
The ASU CIC team built two major components:
- An AI-powered chatbot using Amazon Q Business to provide conversational responses based on Catholic Charities membership network website data.
- A web crawling solution that scrapes content from Catholic Charities websites and stores it in Amazon S3 as a centralized knowledge base.
The solution was powered by several key AWS services:
- Amazon Q Business - Powers conversational AI and indexing to understand user questions and find relevant answers
- AWS Lambda - Handles chat logic and data source creation to process conversations behind the scenes
- API Gateway - Manages secure communication pathways between the chatbot and users
- Amazon S3 - Stores all collected website information and application files in the cloud
- AWS Amplify - Hosts and delivers the chatbot interface that users interact with
- EventBridge - Automatically triggers system updates when new content is added
- AWS CodeBuild - Streamlines deployment process to keep the chatbot running smoothly
The chatbot processes user queries and returns formatted responses with source attributions, accessible through an Amplify-hosted React frontend with Material-UI components.
Industry Impact
This AI assistant transforms how Catholic Charities delivers information and support to their community. By centralizing fragmented data from multiple subsidiary websites, the solution eliminates the time-consuming process of manually searching across different platforms for service information. Staff members can now focus on complex cases and direct client support while the chatbot handles routine inquiries about service availability, eligibility requirements, and location details.
The impact extends beyond operational efficiency to improved accessibility and service delivery. Individuals seeking assistance can now access comprehensive information about Catholic Charities services through a single, intuitive interface that provides immediate responses with reliable source attribution. This democratizes access to critical support services and reduces barriers that might otherwise prevent people from finding the help they need.
Catholic Charities USA is thankful for the collaboration with AWS and the ASU Innovation Cloud Center in creating a one-stop-shop platform for Catholic Charities information. This innovative collaboration empowers the Catholic Charities network to better serve communities by streamlining access to critical resources, enhancing efficiency, and fostering connection across our network. We hope this platform becomes a strong foundation of hope and support for those most in need - Ben Wortham, Vice President of Integrated Health.
Catholic Charities Team
Wider Application
The architecture and approach developed for Catholic Charities USA offers significant potential for adaptation across the nonprofit sector and beyond. Social service organizations, healthcare networks, educational institutions, and government agencies with distributed information sources can leverage similar chatbot frameworks to improve service delivery and operational efficiency.
Next Steps
Catholic Charities USA is evaluating opportunities to expand the chatbot’s reach and integrate more advanced features, such as dynamic service tracking and additional language support. The ASU CIC team recommended scaling the chatbot further and continuing to refine the knowledge base with updated service information.
About the ASU CIC
The ASU Artificial Intelligence Cloud Innovation Center (AI CIC), powered by AWS is a no-cost design thinking and rapid prototyping shop dedicated to bridging the digital divide and driving innovation in the nonprofit, healthcare, education, and government sectors.
Our expert team harnesses Amazon’s pioneering approach to dive deep into high-priority pain points, meticulously define challenges, and craft strategic solutions. We collaborate with AWS solutions architects and talented student workers to develop tailored prototypes showcasing how advanced technology can tackle a wide range of operational and mission-related challenges.
Discover how we use technology to drive innovation. Visit our website at ASU AI CIC or contact us directly at [email protected].
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