Municipality of Eindhoven

The municipality of Eindhoven, the fifth-largest municipality in the Netherlands, was the first public-sector organization to take a bold new step in digital communication.

As a pilot customer of our new product, ReadSpeaker Avatars, Eindhoven explored how AI-generated avatars can help make complex municipal information more understandable and accessible to a broad and diverse population.

ReadSpeaker Avatars is a new solution that converts written web content into short, clear videos spoken by lifelike, AI-generated avatars.

The videos are available in multiple languages and offer residents a visual, calm, and accessible way to take in information. For many people, that works better than long texts.

It’s a new way to support residents—especially when topics feel complex, formal, or unfamiliar.

In Eindhoven, a city where technology, creativity, and diversity come together, this pilot was a natural fit.

The municipality saw opportunities to advance digital inclusion and reach residents with different language levels, backgrounds, and digital skills.

With ReadSpeaker Avatars, Eindhoven was the first to explore what the next generation of digital public services could look like.

 

 

In this story, we hear from Christine Scholts (Senior Policy Advisor for Online Communication) and Harold Meima (Functional Administrator) from the municipality of Eindhoven.

A recurring problem: information that doesn’t reach residents

 

Within the social domain, we have been seeing the same patterns for years.

Topics such as the meedoenbijdrage (social participation allowance), WOZ (property valuation), RNI applications (Non-residents Records Database), free bus travel, and social assistance schemes were among the most visited pages on the website.

These topics are relevant to many residents but also complex. And that’s exactly where things often went wrong.

“Every year we saw that certain questions were asked very often. People either couldn’t find information or didn’t understand it. Non-native speakers and people with low literacy skills in particular ran into problems. With ReadSpeaker, we saw a way to really make complex information understandable,” says Christine.

Why Eindhoven chose ReadSpeaker Avatars

 

The municipality has been working with ReadSpeaker for years and is familiar with the quality of our solutions for digital accessibility.

When ReadSpeaker introduced the new avatar solution, Christine, Harold, and their colleagues were immediately curious.

“We know that ReadSpeaker builds reliable and accessible solutions for public authorities. That gave us the confidence that this innovation would fit what we want to offer our residents,” Christine explains.

Harold Meima felt the same way:

“If a solution helps residents better, then we should use it. This project fits perfectly with what our visitors need.”

Eindhoven saw an opportunity to take a pioneering role in the Netherlands.

As an innovative city, the municipality didn’t want to wait for others to try it first. This was the moment to discover how AI-generated avatars can renew digital public services.

Ten pages that could make the difference

 

The pilot focused on ten web pages that many residents found difficult to understand.

The selection was made through intensive collaboration between communications advisors, the web editorial team, and the service department. The chosen topics all had high visitor numbers and generated recurring questions.

By combining knowledge from different departments, Eindhoven arrived at a clear list of pages where avatars could have the greatest impact.

The goal was clear: not just fewer questions, but also helping residents with clear, understandable, and multilingual explanations.

Implementation through strong collaboration

 

The pilot with Eindhoven came with the usual challenges of introducing a completely new product.

By tackling these together, the project gave us valuable insights into how we can make future implementations even faster and smoother.

The most important insight: bringing the right people together at the table makes all the difference. Whenever something stalled, all parties quickly connected to find a solution.

Harold describes this as an important lesson:

“We learned that moving faster really works. As soon as something gets stuck, just bring everyone together, and you can move forward immediately.”

The collaboration between the municipality, ReadSpeaker, and XS2Content also felt special to Christine:

“The pilot really felt like a joint development. You can tell that everyone is proud of what we’re creating together.”

The results were better than anyone predicted

 

After going live, the most surprising part of the project began.

While some had cautiously hoped for a few percent usage, around 13 percent of visitors clicked on the videos.

“I never expected that 10 to 15 percent of visitors would use the avatars. That’s really above expectations.”

Harold Meima, Functional Administrator, Municipality of Eindhoven

This confirmed what the municipality had suspected but never been able to measure:
many residents need explanations that go beyond text alone.

Visuals, voice, and focus make municipal information more accessible than ever.

Digital inclusion as the guiding principle

 

For Christine, the value of avatars goes beyond innovation alone.

“Digital inclusion is an important principle for us. The avatars not only make our information more accessible, but also more appealing to a broader group of residents.”

Christine Scholts, Senior Policy Advisor for Online Communication, Municipality of Eindhoven

The solution doesn’t just help residents who struggle with reading.

It also supports new residents of Eindhoven, international employees, Ukrainian refugees, and others who prefer to receive information visually rather than in text.

Think, for example, of the younger, tech-savvy generation. It makes digital public services friendlier and easier to understand.

And that is exactly what Eindhoven is working towards.

Next steps: learning from residents

 

In the coming period, the municipality wants to gather more insights.

Which languages are used most? Do the avatars truly help residents better understand the information? Which elements can be further improved?

Harold sees many opportunities:

“Feedback from real users is crucial. We can use it to continue developing.”

The municipality of Eindhoven started with the website and is now exploring how avatars can also be used on other channels.

The avatars can also be deployed as standalone videos—for example in email, WhatsApp, SMS, screens in the city hall, social media, and more.

Eindhoven dares to lead. That makes the difference.

 

The ReadSpeaker Avatars pilot showed that Eindhoven is not afraid to be at the forefront and deploy new technology with real social impact.

“It makes me proud of what we’re achieving as a municipality. This pilot shows that Eindhoven dares to innovate.”

Christine Scholts, Senior Policy Advisor for Online Communication, Municipality of Eindhoven

With this pilot, Eindhoven demonstrates what modern, inclusive, and friendly digital public services can look like.

Not just for today, but for the years to come.