Purpose
On the WITS website, the chatbot serves as a valuable resource for users seeking to examine and engage with trade statistics. The chatbot offers a comprehensive suite of features designed to enhance the user experience. To process user requests, the chatbot leverages Azure AI Language services. One of the key features of the chatbot is its ability to assist users in narrowing down to few relevant data pages amongst millions of pages of pre-aggregated trade statistics. This allows users to quickly and easily access essential trade data without having to manually search through large datasets. Additionally, the chatbot can help users search for specific data, metadata and definitions, making it easier to locate relevant information. The search does not include analytical databases, HS-6 digit trade, or dedicated tariff data pages,
Another notable feature of the chatbot is its ability to search the WITS help section and other selected sections like FAQ, Glossary and more. It prompts a captcha for multiple inquiries to prevent any potential misuse of the chatbot. Additionally, users have the option to browse previously answered questions if the chatbot malfunctions, ensuring that they can still find the answers they need. To ensure the quality of the chatbot's responses, we review and refine the chatbot's algorithms. This process helps to improve the accuracy and relevance of the chatbot's answers, providing users with the most reliable information available. In the event users encounter any discrepancies or errors in the chatbot's responses, they are encouraged to report these issues along with screenshots to the wits@worldbank.org email address. This feedback is essential for the ongoing development and improvement of the chatbot.
Overall, the chatbot on the WITS website is a valuable resource for users looking to navigate trade statistics, search for specific data, and explore key documents. Its user-friendly interface, comprehensive features, and commitment to accuracy make it an invaluable tool for anyone interested in trade-related information.
How to use Chatbot:
- Data Search with or without Knowledge Search
- Narrow Search
- Knowledge Search
Data Search, including Knowledge Base (KB) search, is the default setting. You can ask simple questions such as "what are the exports of a country?" (e.g., "List exports of Japan") or more complex questions such as "what are the imports of a particular product of a country from another country for a particular year or range of years?" (e.g., "Zambia mineral exports to the USA from 2002 to 2012"). When asking year-specific questions, please refer to the TradeStats Data Availability section for year coverage by country. You will receive metadata for all valid country and indicator names, followed by a link to the data page. You can disable metadata and knowledge search if desired by using the toggle button. To ensure valid results, please ensure your search term includes at least one of the following: "country name," "product name," or "indicator name."
The list of names is available in countries metadata, products metadata, and indicators metadata pages. For countries, we have included variations such as "Germany" and "German" or "China" and "Chinese." For products, although the data is available at the sector level, we attempt to match the product name to a sector and provide the data for that sector. If a product name appears in more than one sector, we provide information for all sectors along with a link to display the product name under that sector. For example, Aluminum is in sectors Metals, Chemicals, Minerals, and Machine and Electrical. In this case, we provide a link to a page where you can find all HS 6-digit descriptions containing the word Aluminum, along with the sector to which it belongs.
The second option, "Narrow Search," triggers a wizard where you can select "Country," "Product," or "Indicator" and begin typing the relevant name. A type-ahead feature is available; for example, if you select Country and type the first three characters, it will provide suggestions. Once each parameter is selected, you will receive a query result relevant to the selection. You can browse these pages or add additional parameters.
The third option, Knowledge Search, allows you to search terms in pages such as Glossary, FAQ, Did You Know, NTM Measures (Feb 2014 Version), Trade Metadata, and select pages from WITS help. You can select Knowledge Search and ask questions such as "What is the Simple Average Tariff?" or use the keyword "about" or "define" to obtain definitions (e.g., "about RCA" or "define RCA"). To explore questions other users have asked, you can check the Recently Asked Questions section.