THE CHALLENGE

Why do residents struggle to access assistance programs and services?

Most residents seeking help do not know where to start. Programs are fragmented across agencies with different eligibility rules, application points, and contact channels. The result: residents call multiple offices, wait on hold, and still leave without answers.

RESIDENT BARRIERS

• Complex eligibility rules written for administrators, not residents
• Programs spread across multiple agencies with no single entry point
• Language barriers that make navigation nearly impossible without staff support
• Long call center wait times that delay access to time-sensitive help

STAFF CHALLENGES

Staff who want to serve complex cases spend the majority of their time answering the same four questions:

• “Do I qualify for this program?”
• “Where do I apply?”
• “What documents do I need?”
• “Who should I contact?”

THE SOLUTION

Meet FORWARD Ally: Responsible AI navigation for residents and programs

FORWARD Ally gives residents a single, conversational starting point. They ask questions in plain language and receive clear guidance about which programs match their situation, what the next step is, and where to go when staff involvement is needed.

Ally is grounded entirely in agency-approved program information. It does not generate responses outside its configured scope. Every interaction is auditable.

WHAT ALLY PROVIDES RESIDENTS

• Programs that match their described situation, not a list of every available service
• Clear eligibility context and next steps in plain language
• Guidance in 25+ languages, without requiring a bilingual staff member
• A direct path to staff when their situation requires human involvement

.png)

HOW IT WORKS

How does FORWARD Ally work?

Ally follows a four-step flow that connects a resident’s situation to the right program, with no dead ends.

STEP #1

Resident Asks

The resident speaks or types a question in their own words. No form. No phone menu. No government terminology required. Ally asks clarifying questions when needed.

STEP #2

Ally Engages

Ally analyzes the resident’s situation against agency-approved program information. It surfaces the programs most relevant to their described needs, not a directory of everything available.

STEP #3

Resident Gets Clear Guidance

Ally explains eligibility context and next steps in plain language. In any language. Without using program jargon or assuming prior knowledge.

STEP #4

Handoff When Needed

When a resident’s situation requires staff involvement, Ally routes them to a human navigator. Intake information collected during the conversation is structured and passed to the connected CRM, so staff receive context before the first interaction.

FEATURES

Built for program administrators, not general chatbots

General government AI agents are built for breadth, answering questions about permits, utilities, and public records across every department. Ally is built for depth: the complex, high-stakes economic mobility programs where residents most need guidance and agencies most need trust. That is a different job. It requires a different tool.

Privacy-First Design

Ally does not collect, store, or retain personally identifiable information. Residents navigate without disclosing sensitive data. No PII required to receive guidance.

Agency-Controlled Content

Agencies define what Ally knows and how it responds. All program information requires human approval before Ally surfaces it. No hallucination. No out-of-scope guidance.

Structured Resident Intake

Ally conducts guided intake conversations, collecting program interest and household situation through conversational flow. Data is structured and passed directly to your CRM. No manual form required.

.png)

Voice and IVR Support

Ally is available via inbound phone through IVR integration. Residents can navigate programs by voice, meeting them where they already are, without a smartphone or internet access.

Audit-Ready Oversight

All Ally interactions are traceable and auditable. Every resident conversation, escalation, and response is logged, supporting compliance reviews and public accountability requirements.

CRM and Workflow Integration

Ally integrates natively with FORWARD Direct. Custom integrations to Salesforce and other agency CRM platforms are available. Staff receive structured intake data before the first conversation.

Why FORWARD?

The right tool for resident-facing access

Every approach has its strengths. Ally combines what residents need 24/7 with what your staff need from a system of record.

What Ally delivers

• Built in, not bolted on
• 24/7 availability
• Answers when offices are closed
• Knows your local programs
• Trained on your catalog, not the public internet
• Eligibility screening built in
• Conversational pre-screen against your criteria
• Multilingual (8 langs, AI-translated)
• Auto-detect + respond in resident language
• Voice + IVR on the same platform
• Same brain answers chat, voice, and phone
• PII-safe by default
• Auto-detects + scrubs PII before any LLM call
• Integrates with case management
• Tier-1 intake flows straight into FORWARD Sync
• Auto-generated landing pages
• SEO-ready public page per program
• Conversation memory across channels
• Chat → voice → IVR keeps context
• AI-powered tier escalation
• Hands off complex cases to staff with context
• Analytics + insight dashboard
• See what residents ask, where they drop off
• WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility
• Built-in keyboard nav + screen-reader support
• Low-bandwidth phone fallback
• IVR + SMS keep working without smartphones
• Custom branding + assistant name
• Looks like your agency, not a vendor widget
• Per-active-engagement pricing
• Pay for resident volume, not staff seats
• Live in under an hour

FORWARD Ally

Built for benefits programs

Generic chatbot SaaS

• Intercom / Drift / etc.
• 211 / referral hotline
• Human-staffed line
• Static program directory
• Drupal / WordPress page
• Manual phone triage
• Internal staff fields calls

Pricing that scales with your volume

Starter

$5,000 / year
$417 / month
250 engagements / year
Up to 10 programs

• Chat + voice interface
• Tier-1 progressive intake
• 8 languages, AI-translated catalog
• PII-safe transcripts
• Email support

Core

$10,000 / year
$833 / month
750 engagements / year
Up to 15 programs

• Everything in Starter
• IVR phone support
• Eligibility screener
• SEO landing pages per program
• Embeddable widget

Advanced

$20,000 / year
$1,667 / month
3,000 engagements / year
Unlimited programs

• Everything in Core
• Custom voice + IVR scripts
• CRM / case-mgmt webhook integrations
• Multilingual print summaries (PDF)
• Priority support

Enterprise

Custom

Custom volume
Unlimited programs

• Everything in Advanced
• Dedicated success manager
• Custom data residency / SLA
• SSO + audit log exports
• White-glove onboarding

Need case management too?

FORWARD Sync bundles Ally at the matched tier — see Sync pricing for details.

Who is FORWARD Ally built for?

Ally is built for organizations accountable for connecting residents to programs and services, across government and nonprofit service delivery.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

• City and county human services departments managing resident intake at scale
• State agencies administering assistance programs under compliance scrutiny
• Housing authorities and economic development offices serving multilingual communities
• Workforce development programs with complex eligibility and completion requirements

NONPROFIT AGENCIES

• Community action agencies and service navigators fielding high call volume
• 211 systems seeking to extend navigation capacity without expanding headcount
• CDFIs and legal aid organizations supporting economic mobility programs
• Multi-program nonprofits serving residents across housing, workforce, and benefits

Residents deserve a clear path to help.

Most residents seeking help don’t know where to start. Most staff who want to help them can’t because they’re answering the same routine questions at volume.

FORWARD Ally solves both sides of that problem. Responsibly. With governance built in. Without replacing the humans who make the final decisions.

FAQs

• What is FORWARD Ally?
  FORWARD Ally is a responsible, privacy-first AI navigation tool built for government agencies and nonprofits. It helps residents find and navigate programs in plain language, in any language, without collecting personal data or making eligibility decisions.
• Does Ally make eligibility decisions?
  No. Ally navigates and connects. It surfaces programs relevant to a resident’s described situation and explains eligibility context, but program staff retain full decision-making authority. This is a core governance commitment, not a product limitation.
• How does Ally protect resident privacy?
  Ally does not collect, store, or retain personally identifiable information from resident conversations. Residents can navigate programs and receive guidance without disclosing sensitive data. All Ally responses are grounded in agency-approved program information.
• Does Ally replace staff?
  No. Ally answers routine navigation questions so staff can focus on complex cases that require human expertise, judgment, and accountability. Every Ally interaction that requires staff involvement includes a direct escalation path.
• What languages does Ally support?
  Ally supports 25+ languages, enabling residents to receive guidance in their preferred language without requiring a bilingual staff member for initial navigation.
• Does Ally work with phone systems?
  Yes. Ally supports voice and IVR interactions through inbound phone integration, so residents can navigate programs by phone without internet access or a smartphone.
• How does Ally integrate with existing systems?
  Ally integrates natively with FORWARD Direct. Custom integrations to Salesforce and other agency CRM platforms are available. Intake data collected during Ally conversations is structured and passed downstream to connected systems, ready for staff review.
• Is Ally auditable?
  Yes. All Ally interactions are traceable and auditable, supporting compliance reviews and public accountability requirements.
• How is Ally different from a government website AI agent or resource directory?
  General government AI agents answer questions and help residents navigate websites, including permit renewals, utility bills, public records. Resource directories connect residents to lists of available services. Ally does something different: it conducts a guided conversation, identifies which economic mobility programs match a resident’s actual situation, explains what the next step is, and passes structured intake data to your case management system before staff are involved. Ally is not a smarter search bar. It is a navigation and intake tool built specifically for the programs where stakes are highest, including housing, workforce, income support, and emergency relief.

What outcomes do organizations see with FORWARD Ally?

Organizations using Ally describe consistent patterns:

• Residents get answers without waiting on hold, reducing first-contact frustration
• Staff spend less time on routine navigation questions and more time on complex cases
• Multilingual communities receive guidance in their preferred language without additional staffing
• Agencies gain visibility into which programs residents are asking about, and where access gaps exist
• Intake data arrives structured and ready for staff review, before the first conversation begins
• AI interactions are fully traceable and auditable for compliance and oversight requirements

FORWARD security certification that protect our clients and their communities: