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This AI agent helps citizens understand government grant programs, check eligibility requirements, and navigate the application process through a guided conversational experience. Federal, state, and local governments administer thousands of grant programs annually, yet the Government Accountability Office estimates that billions in available grant funding goes unclaimed each year because citizens cannot find the right program or understand the application requirements. The agent also educates citizens about grant scams, which the Federal Trade Commission flagged as a growing problem with over $2.7 billion lost to government imposter scams in 2023 alone. Designed for government agencies that manage grant information and constituent services, this bot reduces the burden on staff who field repetitive eligibility and application questions while ensuring citizens get accurate, up-to-date grant information 24/7.
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Deploying an AI agent for grants information delivers concrete gains in call deflection, citizen access, and fraud prevention that justify the investment within months.
Grant-administering agencies report that the majority of constituent calls are basic eligibility and process questions, not complex case-specific issues. The National League of Cities estimates that informational calls account for 60-70% of total call volume in government service centers. By deflecting routine grant eligibility, deadline, and application process questions to a self-service AI agent, agencies can reduce inbound call volume by 30-50% for grant-related inquiries. The State of Indiana's INBiz program, deployed on Tars, saved over 4,000 calls per month and more than $500,000 after automating citizen-facing services, demonstrating the scale achievable for grant information programs at state and federal levels.
Government web forms see abandonment rates as high as 70% for complex submissions, and grant applications are among the most complex forms citizens encounter. When citizens cannot easily determine whether they qualify or what documents they need, they abandon the process entirely. An AI agent that walks citizens through eligibility screening and application requirements before they reach the formal application reduces early-stage abandonment. For agencies evaluated on grant disbursement rates and program utilization metrics, increasing the number of qualified, complete applications translates directly into more effective deployment of allocated grant funding and better program outcomes.
A staffed call to a government constituent services center costs between $3 and $8 per interaction. An AI agent handles the same eligibility question for pennies. For a state agency fielding 5,000 grant-related calls per month, shifting 40% to an AI agent saves $72,000-$192,000 annually in direct staffing costs. Additionally, by proactively educating citizens about grant scams, the agent reduces the volume of fraud-related complaints and referrals that agencies must investigate. The Missouri Secretary of State automated over 200,000 customer service conversations using Tars, proving that conversational AI can operate at the scale government programs demand while maintaining high citizen satisfaction.
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features
Every feature addresses the specific challenges agencies face in making grant information accessible to the citizens who need it most.
The federal government alone administers over 2,200 grant programs through 26 agencies, and state and local governments add thousands more. Citizens have no easy way to know which programs they might qualify for. This agent organizes grants into intuitive categories and uses conversational branching to match citizens with relevant programs based on their specific circumstances, including location, income level, business status, and project type. Rather than requiring citizens to search a database with filters they may not understand, the agent functions like a knowledgeable caseworker who asks the right questions and narrows the options.
Americans lost over $2.7 billion to government imposter scams in 2023, with grant scams being a significant portion. This agent serves a dual purpose: providing legitimate grant information while actively educating citizens about how to identify and avoid scams. It warns users about unsolicited contact, upfront fee requests, and fake government websites. For agencies, this reduces the volume of constituent calls about scam-related incidents and demonstrates a proactive commitment to citizen protection. The scam education content can be updated as new fraud patterns emerge, keeping the agent current as a frontline defense.
Government grant inquiries often involve sensitive personal and financial information, including income data, Social Security numbers, and business financial records. Tars is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant, ISO certified, and GDPR compliant. All citizen data is encrypted in transit and at rest. Agency administrators can configure data retention policies to comply with federal records management requirements and state-level public records laws, set role-based access controls for grants office staff, and maintain audit trails of every citizen interaction for transparency and accountability.
Grant management workflows span multiple platforms: application portals like Grants.gov, constituent relationship management systems, case tracking databases, and inter-agency coordination tools. Tars integrates with Tyler Technologies, CivicPlus, OpenGov, and other government-specific platforms through webhooks and API connections. It also connects with Zapier, Google Sheets, Airtable, and Slack for agencies that use these as workflow middleware. Citizen inquiries captured by the agent flow directly into the systems grants staff already use, eliminating manual data re-entry and ensuring no request falls through the cracks.
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Citizens identify relevant grants, verify their eligibility, and understand the application process in three conversational steps, without wading through dense government portals or waiting for a caseworker callback.
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FAQs
The agent can be configured to cover any grant program your agency administers or that falls within your informational mandate. Common categories include housing and homeownership grants, small business development grants, education and workforce training grants, community development block grants, disaster relief funding, research and innovation grants, agricultural grants, and weatherization assistance programs. The conversational flow is fully customizable, so agencies can add federal, state, and local programs specific to their jurisdiction and update grant details as programs change.
The agent performs preliminary eligibility screening by asking citizens targeted questions about their income, location, business status, and other qualifying criteria, then comparing their answers against the published eligibility requirements for each program. This is not a formal eligibility determination, which still requires an official application review. However, it helps citizens self-assess before investing time in a full application and directs them away from programs they clearly do not qualify for. This saves both the citizen and the agency review time on non-qualifying applications.
The agent includes proactive scam education as part of its conversational flow. It warns citizens that legitimate government grants never require upfront fees, are never awarded through unsolicited phone calls, emails, or text messages, and are only available through official .gov websites. When citizens describe interactions that match common scam patterns, the agent advises them to report the incident to the FTC and provides the correct reporting channels. This dual function of legitimate grant guidance plus scam prevention reduces fraud-related constituent calls to your agency.
Tars is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant, ISO certified, and GDPR compliant. All data collected during citizen interactions is encrypted in transit and at rest. Agency administrators can configure data retention policies to align with federal and state public records retention requirements, restrict access by department or role, and maintain full audit logs of every interaction. The platform meets the security standards required by government agencies handling personally identifiable citizen information and financial data.
Most agencies can have the agent live on their website within days. The conversational flow is pre-configured with common grant categories, eligibility screening logic, and scam prevention messaging, and can be customized through a no-code interface to match your specific programs and jurisdiction. No IT development resources are required for initial deployment. Tars provides onboarding support to help agency staff map their grant programs into the agent's conversational structure and configure integrations with existing systems.
Yes. Tars integrates with government-specific platforms including Tyler Technologies, CivicPlus, and OpenGov through webhooks and API connections. It also connects with general-purpose tools like Zapier, Google Sheets, Airtable, and Slack. For agencies that use Grants.gov as their primary application portal, the agent can direct citizens to the correct Grants.gov listing and pre-screen their eligibility before they begin the formal application. Citizen contact information and inquiry details captured by the agent flow into your existing CRM or case management system without manual re-entry.
Yes. Tars supports multilingual deployment, which is essential for government agencies serving diverse populations. The agent can be configured with parallel conversation flows in English, Spanish, and other languages spoken in your community. The Census Bureau reports that 22% of U.S. residents speak a language other than English at home, and underserved communities that most need grant assistance often face the highest language barriers. Multilingual AI agents ensure equitable access to grant information regardless of the citizen's primary language.
The State of Indiana's INBiz program saved over $500,000 and reduced inbound calls by more than 4,000 per month after deploying Tars for citizen-facing services. The Missouri Secretary of State automated over 200,000 customer service conversations. Workforce Solutions of Central Texas fully automated their L1 citizen support online. Across all deployments, Tars maintains a 4.7/5 rating on G2 and serves over 800 global brands. Gartner predicts that 80% of governments will deploy AI agents for routine decision-making by 2028, making early adoption a strategic advantage for agencies seeking to modernize constituent services.
Privacy & Security
At Tars, we take privacy and security very seriously. We are compliant with GDPR, ISO, SOC 2, and HIPAA.
Email - sales@hellotars.com
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