AI Assistant privacy notice

Last updated: September 2026

What this notice is about 

This notice explains how Islington Council uses "Matti", our AI-powered resident assistant. Matti currently supports housing repairs and a growing range of other council services. Residents may interact with Matti through channels such as WhatsApp and telephone conversations to obtain information, access services and complete self-service transactions. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) to understand questions asked in everyday language and help residents access council services more easily. You should also read our main privacy notice, which provides more information about how we use personal information, your rights and how to contact us.  

What information we collect, hold and use

When you use Matti, we may collect and process: 

• your name 
• your address and postcode 
• your telephone number 
• your email address, where provided 
• information about the repair you are reporting including descriptions and any photos you provide, and (for voice calls) audio recordings or transcripts of your conversation with the AI agent
• information needed to identify your property or tenancy 
• Operational handling flags linked to the property or tenancy record (for example, where a case needs to be handled by the Contact Centre), and 
• information contained within repair requests and related council records. 

Where we get your information from 

Most of the information we use is provided directly by you when you contact Matti. 

We may also retrieve relevant information from council housing and repairs systems where this is necessary to identify your property, understand your enquiry, manage your repair request or provide information about an existing repair. 

Where repairs are carried out by contractors on behalf of the council, information may also be received from those contractors in connection with the repair. This information is added to the council's housing and repairs records. 

How we use this information 

We use your information to:

• receive and manage housing repair requests
• communicate with you about repairs
• identify the property associated with the repair
• assess and categorise repair requests
• create and update repair records
• arrange and manage repair appointments
• provide information about existing repairs
• help residents access council services through conversational channels
• verify identity where appropriate before providing account information
• support self-service transactions where available
• monitor, maintain and improve the service, and
• support accessibility by providing multiple ways for residents to contact us. 

Matti uses AI to understand questions and provide responses in a conversational format. Depending on the service being provided, Matti may retrieve information from council systems, ask questions to gather information needed to progress a repair, and create records for review or action by council staff. 

Council Tax services 

Where Matti is used for Council Tax services, it may: 

• retrieve information from your Council Tax account once the appropriate identity checks have been completed 
• provide information about your account and current balance 
• explain available payment and self-service options 
• check whether certain arrangements are available based on predefined council rules 
• help you set up payment arrangements where this functionality is available, and 
• create notes or records for council staff to review and action. 

If you choose to make a payment, Matti may direct you to the council's payment systems. Payment card details are entered into the council's approved payment platform and are not processed by Matti. 

Human oversight and decision-making 

Matti helps residents access information and services more easily, but it does not make decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on residents. 

For example, Matti does not decide whether someone is liable for Council Tax, entitled to a discount, exempt from a charge, eligible for a council service or whether enforcement action should be taken. These decisions continue to be made through the council's existing systems, rules and staff processes. 

Where a matter requires judgement, discretion or review by a council officer, it will be dealt with through the council's normal procedures. 

Matti does not make decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects on residents. Where a matter requires judgement or review by a council officer, it will be dealt with through the council's normal processes. 

Helping you without repeating information 

We are developing a feature called "Matti’s Memory" that may allow Matti to remember a limited amount of information from previous conversations. 

The purpose of this feature is to reduce unnecessary repetition and help provide a more consistent service. For example, Matti may remember a communication preference you have previously provided, or a summary of an earlier interaction, so that you do not need to repeat the same information every time you contact us. Memory information would be used only to provide context for future conversations and would not be used to make decisions about your rights, repair priority, tenancy, eligibility for services or any other significant outcome. 

Further information is available in our dedicated Matti’s memory privacy information notice. 

Our legal reasons for processing (using) your data 

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018, the lawful bases we rely on for processing this information are: 

• Article 6 (1) (c) of the UK GDPR: Processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation 
• Article 6 (1) (e) of the UK GDPR: Processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest. 

We do not expect to process special category data via this channel, however where the repair request involves health related information, for example adaptations for a disability, the council relies on the following lawful bases for processing special category data: 

• Article 9 (2) (g) of the UK GDPR: Processing is necessary for reasons of substantial public interest
• Article 9 (2) (h) of the UK GDPR: Processing is necessary for the provision of health or social care. 

Who we share this information with

We may share information with: 

• council staff responsible for managing housing repairs 
• contractors carrying out repairs on behalf of the council 
• suppliers that provide systems used to deliver housing repairs services 
• providers of cloud and AI services that support Matti 
• internal council teams responsible for digital services, cybersecurity, governance and service improvement, and 
• organisations where disclosure is required by law. 

We do not use information collected through Matti to train publicly available AI systems.

How we store your data

We keep your information secure within council systems and authorised technology platforms used to deliver the service. 

Please note that residents’ WhatsApp chat history remains within their WhatsApp account and can be deleted by the resident. The council does not keep a permanent copy of the full WhatsApp chat history. However, to help us keep the service safe and improve it, we may retain an operational record of interactions (including WhatsApp interaction data and, for voice calls, transcripts where applicable) for up to 90 days for troubleshooting, quality assurance, and service monitoring, after which it is deleted. 

To find out how long we keep your information, please see the council’s main privacy notice and retention schedule. 

Your individual rights

You have rights over your personal data, including the right to request access to information we hold about you, and in some circumstances to request correction, restriction or objection to processing. 

For more information about your rights, please see our main privacy notice and information about individual rights. 

For more information on how WhatsApp handles your data, please refer to their privacy notice.

Complaints

If you are unhappy with how we use your data please see the council’s main privacy notice to find out how to make a complaint with the council or the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).