Why choose us
Experts in AI for casework
Track record with public services. Our team includes a caseworker turned AI engineer.
Fresh yet credible
Rapid, agile, effective delivery. Experienced leaders from best-in-class organisations.
Product builders
Multidisciplinary team delivering productivity improvements across your service.
Our values
Compassion
We centre humans in our design and development. We treat our stakeholders, end users and colleagues with consideration. We put ourselves in others' shoes before making decisions.
Craftsmanship
The work is its own reward. We protect time for our team to learn new skills. We don't ship products until we're proud of them.
Integrity
We make efforts to minimise discrimination and exclusion through our products. We're transparent about our mistakes and learnings. We create space for team dissent.
Our story
Motivated by lived experience, backed by government.
2009
The worst day of Andy's life; a seed of HelpFirst's mission.
2019
Andy founds SIDE Labs - standing for Social Impact Digital Explorers
2023
HelpFirst spins out from SIDE Labs. We take a helpline automation project forward for Citizens Advice Scotland. We beat 19 other teams to win Scottish Government funding - to build a solution for prioritising vulnerable clients.
2024
HelpFirst receives an Innovate UK grant to develop an LLM-powered chatbot for Citizens Advice Network. Our ‘intelligent case notes’ product is launched in beta. We’re shortlisted in the DigiLeaders Impact Awards, bringing our total to 4: