An estimated 16 million people in the US have lost their jobs in the past three weeks, many due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With millions of unemployment claims overwhelming states’ websites and phone lines, some have been unable to access benefits. A startup called DoNotPay has launched a newest feature: a chatbot that will help you complete and submit unemployment claims.
在過去三週，全美估計有1600萬人失去工作，多數是因為新冠肺炎疫情影響。因此，幾百萬件的失業相關申請突然湧入美國的政府網站及專線，導致有些人無法順利申請。一間名為 DoNotPay的新創公司便推出一項新功能：一個幫你提交、完成失業申請的聊天機器人。
The startup already offers chat-based interfaces for other anti-bureaucracy tasks, from filing small claims lawsuits to generating customer service complaints, so its unemployment benefit tool was a natural extension. Users get a list of documents they need up front, then answer a set of questions that DoNotPay uses to fill out the necessary forms. DoNotPay has three employees working full-time on updating the process for each state as their criteria changes.
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這家新創公司過去已經提供聊天介面，用以完成一些非政府體系的任務，功能包含小型案件提告至產出客訴內容，最新的申請失業保險工具，也算是很自然的延伸功能。用戶會收到需要準備的文件列表，接著需要回答一些問題，讓DoNotPay能夠協助填入需要的表格。DoNotPay有3位全職員工會根據每州的狀況更新程序。
That help couldn’t come at a better time. With roughly 22 million Americans filing for unemployment over the past three weeks, many states have struggled to keep up with the overwhelming number of people seeking support.
這個功能來得正是時候，過去三週內大約有2200萬的美國人填寫失業申請表格，許多州都無法負荷突然湧入、需要幫助的人們。
“We’ve helped people deal with government paperwork and corporate bureaucracy for the past few years,” CEO Joshua Browder tells CNBC Make It. But getting help submitting unemployment has been the most requested feature by users since the start of the layoffs, he says, adding that users have been complaining of long wait times on the phone and limited online access.
DoNotPay執行長Joshua Browder告訴CNBC Make It，「我們已經幫助大家處理政府的文書作業，過去幾年也跟官僚體系合作。」在裁員潮開始後，協助申請失業補助成為用戶最需要的功能，Joshua Browder也補充，用戶一直都在抱怨申請電話的等待時間太長，能在線上完成的程序也很有限。
DoNotPay can submit the unemployment claim online at off-peak hours, increasing the chances that it’ll go through without any issues. Users can also ask DoNotPay to file their claim by mail or fax. The app then notifies users when it has successfully submitted a claim.
DoNotPay可以在非尖峰時段線上提交失業補助申請，提高作業成功的機會。用戶也可以要求 DoNotPay以電子郵件或傳真的方式為他們申請失業補助，該App會在成功提交補助文件後通知用戶。
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本文收錄於英語島English Island 2020年05月號
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