Pitches for AI assistants that can help you send emails or craft pitch decks may be feeling stale, but what about one designed to help new immigrants navigate the U.S.? How about a digital helper that can connect someone to pressing social services or just help them feel supported in a foreign environment? That’s what ALMA, a new virtual assistant designed by the nonprofit International Rescue Committee (IRC), is designed to do.
ALMA, which stands for “AI for Life Mapping Assistance,” was built in-house by multiple IRC teams and their clients, modeled after a digital learning tool known as aprendIA. It pulls from a vast library of IRC resources — standard client materials, staff training resources, and information offered by trusted external organizations — to provide specialized assistance to refugees, special immigrant visa holders, and others.
Most notably, ALMA is based on WhatsApp, one of the leading communication platforms for immigrant communities nationwide, including those served by the IRC. It’s also a growing site for non-English alternative news resources and local organizing. Individuals in need just have to text ALMA’s number (+1 619-658-5100) to get instant help.
“We wanted to make sure that clients had a way to get reliable answers and resources 24/7,” said Tara Catanach, ALMA’s designer and IRC’s project director for virtual reception and placement. Catanach explained that, unlike popular chatbot companions marketed by the field’s major players, ALMA isn’t designed to continuously engage with a client — the kind of chatbot codependency currently prompting concern among mental health professionals.
Instead, ALMA is designed as an emergency response tool with very specific use cases in mind: An individual new to the U.S. needs assistance finding their benefits or nearby social services. They want to know how to apply for housing or the best way to talk to their landlord. They may ask to roleplay a typical job interview or get an overview of their rights.
“It’s easy to refer to ALMA as a virtual caseworker, but ALMA doesn’t replace any of the work our offices do,” said Catanach.
ALMA uses LLMs not for any core content, IRC explains, but for personalizing responses. For now, it harnesses OpenAI’s GPT 4.1 and GPT 4.1 mini, but the organization explains ALMA can run on any model. It’s also structured with safeguards that direct conversations about mental health, abuse, or domestic violence to other organizations or escalate them to IRC staff.
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ALMA can also access the internet if an individual’s requests are outside its scope, but it defaults to what Catanach describes as static pools of information, evergreen resources that are unlikely to promulgate misinformation or hallucinatory facts, like other AI-powered search engines.
Unlike a service like ChatGPT, for example, “ALMA knows who our users are,” said Catanach. “They’re English language learners. They’re new to the U.S. The client doesn’t have to do any coaching to get the information they need.”
Across the U.S., immigrant and refugee populations have been forced to navigate an increasingly convoluted and hostile political environment. The Trump administration has taken a hard line on immigration, including striking out at special visa statuses and suspending the Refugee Admissions Program. Many fear detention, deportation, and surveillance as guidelines on entry are rewritten by federal leaders.
Meanwhile, social platforms and Big Tech’s leaders have cozied up to the administration, including WhatsApp parent company Meta. Recent changes to the platform’s advertising policy sounded alarm bells among privacy experts, as well as investigations that found Trump officials, including ICE agents, used the app for surveillance operations. WhatsApp has been known to exacerbate misinformation when circulating rumors go unchecked.
Still, ALMA is hosted on WhatsApp because it’s where the people in need actually are, and where they already have support systems in place, instead of a separate website or app.
WhatsApp has also recently vowed to alert users to government spyware. User messages are end-to-end encrypted by default, but ALMA does collect phone numbers and other WhatsApp profile information for IRC research, Catanach told Mashable. The AI is instructed to tell users not to share identifiable information, like personal addresses, or even their immigration status, unless they’re comfortable. Legal advice — including questions about green cards or constantly evolving visa policies — is also a no-go for the virtual caseworker assistant, which directs users to outside sources if they need help with their case.
ALMA launched first in Dari/Farsi, English, Spanish, and Swahili, the most used languages among IRC’s clients. Catanach says they’re testing ALMA’s capabilities in 10 more languages for future updates, and are looking to add new topics like healthcare and schooling to ALMA’s knowledge base. She’ll hopefully get an accessibility upgrade, too, like the option to send voice notes.
IRC is hoping to reach 100,000 users in ALMA’s first year. “Our goal is to get ALMA in the hands of those who could use its support.”
