Trade unions across the country are deploying digital tools to dismantle the barriers of time and distance, ensuring critical support and services reach every member instantly and directly.

The Zhongshan trade union federation in Guangdong province recently launched a locally deployed "Xiangxiaojiang + Deep-Seek" intelligent customer service system, which is the first prefecture-level city trade union in the province to implement an artificial intelligence application. This system breaks the constraints of the eight-hour workday, achieving three major technological breakthroughs: all-scenario coverage, 24/7 availability, and intelligent operation.

"I wanted to inquire about some employment and labor-related services, and all of these can be handled by the AI customer service. It's very convenient," said a local resident surnamed Tan.

Featuring intelligent Q&A and dialogue functions, the system helps reduce waiting times for employees. Whether it is policy consultation, business processing or dispute mediation, the system can promptly understand and provide accurate solutions within a short timeframe.

The intelligent system was developed under the leadership of Liang Ganchao, head of the innovation studio for model workers and skilled talents in Zhongshan. Liang led a team of experienced technical professionals to conduct in-depth research into employees' needs and the pain points in trade union services. The system was then created by integrating the language understanding and reasoning capabilities of DeepSeek.

"The system can identify frequently asked questions from employees, enabling trade unions to promptly adjust their work priorities and resource allocation," Liang said.

"It also uses data analysis to predict potential labor relations risks, allowing trade unions to intervene early and resolve conflicts proactively. This helps safeguard workers' rights and maintain social stability," Liang said, adding that the studio will continue to refine its algorithms and enhance data mining and analytics capabilities. This will help the Zhongshan trade union federation better identify workers' needs, forecast potential risks and optimize service procedures.

As a key pillar in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, an innovation hub on the GBA's western bank, and a nationally recognized self-reliant, innovation-driven manufacturing city, Zhongshan is home to 2.82 million industrial workers. It plays a significant role in advancing the province's high-quality development and the ongoing reform of building a modern, skilled industrial workforce, said Yu Huatao, executive vice-chairman of the Zhongshan trade union federation.

"While proactively embracing and leveraging new technologies, trade unions must adhere to the principle of upholding fundamentals while pursuing innovation.

"By integrating traditional methods with digital intelligence — a 'tradition plus digital' model — they can ensure the spirit of model workers, labor and craftsmanship is promoted accurately, widely and effectively into the daily work and lives of employees," Yu said.

While Zhongshan focused on achieving a targeted breakthrough with its online intelligent customer service system, the Liuyang trade union federation in Hunan province chose a different path. It transformed the workers' cultural center, a physical offline venue, into a testing ground for a systematic, digital-intelligent service reform, aiming to address the challenge of uneven resource distribution.

"It only takes a few taps on your phone to sign up for any course at the workers' cultural center this year," said an employee who attended a public welfare course at the center.

The hassle of in-person registration for some courses is now a thing of the past, replaced by a one-tap process on the Liuyang trade union digital intelligence platform. Since its launch in February, the system has served over 30,000 user visits. Intelligent services are becoming a new standard within easy reach for workers.

At 7 pm on May 22, Guo Ying, an employee of Shuangfu, a local packaging and printing business, entered the bike area of the Liuyang workers' cultural center by scanning a code. "Before, we had to register with a phone number at the front desk to get in. Now, we just scan a membership QR code to enter the class and find a seat directly — it's as convenient as shopping in a 'digital supermarket'," Guo said.

Since its opening in 2018, the 6,200-square-meter cultural center is regarded as a "workers' home", serving as both a free fitness space and a cultural learning space, hosting over 80,000 visits annually.