Chatbot Want to use the Chatbot? Try it out here.

The Chatbot currently runs on Claude 4 Sonnet. I found Claude 4 Sonnet's ability to follow instructions to be better than Claude 3.7 Sonnet.

A major opportunity for error in SNAP guidance is applying one state's rules to another. It can be surprising which SNAP policy options vary between states. For this reason, every state has its own Chatbot, specifically trained on its state-specific data.

The Chatbot is trained on the following data

• Federal SNAP Policy: The majority of general SNAP policy, such as countable income, allowable deductions, household composition, and the SNAP benefit equation comes from the federal SNAP rules. Specifically, 7 CFR 273.
• State SNAP Handbook: The state SNAP handbook provides some additional information about state policies. There is a lot of variance in state SNAP handbooks, which is the biggest reason of any quality differences between state chatbots.
• Custom SNAP Screener Data: The main focus of snapscreener.com is providing information about income limits, asset limits, deductions, and the SNAP benefit formula. Custom data and instructions were compiled specifically for the Chatbots to be able to understand concepts such as Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility. This is the main strength of the Chatbot compared to using a regular AI tool, as our Chatbot is able to provide a higher level of quality in terms of providing correct and up-to-date income limits and coverage of multiple pathways to eligibility.

The Chatbot links to resources that can be helpful for clients when applicable:

• State Application: If a client wants to apply, they will be linked to the state's application (e.g. snapscreener.com/go/pa/apply)
• State's Website: If a client wants official information about SNAP, they'll be linked to the state's SNAP website (e.g. snapscreener.com/go/pa/website)
• State County Office: If a client wants to get in contact with someone at the state for help, they'll be linked to the state's SNAP County Assistance Office (e.g. snapscreener.com/go/pa/cao)
• SNAP Screener Calculator: If a client wants to see if they're eligible for SNAP, or calculate a benefit amount, they're linked to our SNAP calculator (e.g. snapscreener.com/screener/pennsylvania)
• SNAP Work Requirements Screener: If a client has questions about work requirements, they're linked to our SNAP work requirements tool (e.g. snapscreener.com/work-requirements/pennsylvania)

SNAP Screener primarily focuses on pre-application topics, answering questions such as "Am I eligible" and "How much will my benefit amount be?". Accuracy is a core priority of the Chatbot, so these scope limitations help us ensure that the Chatbot is only attempting to answer questions where it can provide a high quality answer.

In Scope Topics

1. What are the income limits?
2. Does ______ count as income?
3. Who should I include in my household?
4. Can you help me understand this deduction?

Out of Scope Topics

The Chatbot is designed to not answer questions about anything after the application is started, including but not limited to the following topics:

• Issues with documentation
• Reporting requirements
• Recertification questions