Debra

DEBRA UK is the leading UK charity and patient support organisation for people living with epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a rare, extremely painful genetic skin-blistering condition (often called “butterfly skin”). Its stated vision is “a world where no one suffers with EB” and its mission is to provide life-long care while seeking cures for all affected by EB. DEBRA’s work spans patient support, healthcare guidance and funding research. The charity serves almost 4,000 members nationwide, with over 1,000 of them accessing DEBRA’s specialist support services each year. In parallel, DEBRA is the largest UK funder of EB research – it has invested over £22 million in pioneering studies and international collaborations to advance understanding and treatment of EB. These factors – supporting a medically complex community and communicating evolving research – shape DEBRA’s focus on accurate, compassionate information and assistance.

Challenges

• Complex information needs. EB is a very rare condition with complex medical and practical aspects. Website visitors (patients, carers or professionals) often have urgent questions about EB causes, wound care, treatments or daily living. DEBRA’s website covers many topics – from clinical research updates to local support services – and finding the right answer can be difficult for users.
• Wide-ranging inquiries. Visitors may ask about fundraising, membership, events, shops or clinical trials in addition to medical questions. Ensuring that each query is routed to the appropriate information is a major challenge.
• Accuracy and trust. Because EB is a medical condition, any advice or information must be reliable. DEBRA needed to make sure that automated answers are consistent with best practice and with the charity’s values. The organisation emphasises clear, kind, helpful communication in all support – any new tool had to reflect DEBRA’s emphasis on empathy and precision.
• Responsiveness and workload. Before the chatbot, common questions often came via phone or email to DEBRA’s Community Support team. DEBRA needed a solution to provide 24/7 assistance so that routine information requests could be handled instantly, freeing colleagues to address more complex needs.

Solution

• Rapid AI deployment. In 2025, DEBRA UK launched a ChatBotKit conversational AI widget on its website. The chat widget was embedded on every page (bottom-right corner) so users could ask questions at any time. The bot is available 24/7, ensuring visitors always have instant help.
• Tailored knowledge base. The chatbot was trained specifically on DEBRA’s content. It understands the topics most important to the EB community: causes of EB, available support services, fundraising and donation processes, ongoing research trials, events, and more. The ChatBotKit platform allows DEBRA to upload and curate its own data, ensuring answers come from DEBRA’s official resources.
• Value-aligned training. With ChatBotKit’s guidance, the bot was configured to reflect DEBRA’s voice. It delivers precise, trustworthy answers and _“reflects DEBRA’s values, offering clear, kind, and helpful answers”._The AI answers are drawn primarily from DEBRA’s own website; in rare cases it cites trusted external sources (for example, linking to NHS guidance).This setup ensures consistency and medical accuracy in every response.
• Guided navigation. Rather than giving long explanations, the chatbot often links users to the most relevant page on the site. For example, if asked “What causes EB?” or “Where is my nearest DEBRA shop?”, the bot will point directly to the detailed EB overview or the shop finder page. Users are also gently reminded to verify any critical information (DEBRA notes that if anything is unclear, users should “verify the information by clicking on the links provided, and in case of doubt, contact our team”. This combination of automated guidance and human fallback preserves accuracy.

Results

• Improved visitor engagement. Since launch, many website visitors have used the chatbot as a first point of contact. Early feedback suggests that users appreciate the quick assistance and friendly tone. Because the bot is always available, people can get help outside office hours without delay. This 24/7 accessibility has made the site more engaging and user-friendly.
• Reduced support queries. By handling common inquiries automatically, the chatbot has relieved pressure on DEBRA’s support team. DEBRA reports a noticeable drop in repetitive emails and phone queries, such as “How do I donate?” or “What support is near me?” Questions are now answered on the spot by the bot. This has freed the Community Support team to focus on personalized assistance for complex cases. In short, routine queries are resolved by AI, and genuine help requests reach colleagues more efficiently.
• Qualitative feedback. In internal reviews, the team sees that the bot’s “clear, kind” answers match DEBRA’s own tone, building trust with users. Overall, the conversational interface has made the website feel more responsive and interactive.

Looking Ahead

• Multi-language support. DEBRA plans to extend the chatbot to serve non-English speakers. The ChatBotKit platform has full internationalization features: its interface and bot messages can be automatically translated, and users can select their preferred language. It can handle unlimited messages in various languages, so DEBRA could train versions of the bot for languages like Chinese, Polish or Thai (which match the translated versions of the site).
• Deeper integrations. ChatBotKit supports many integrations beyond the website. For example, there are connectors for WhatsApp, Slack, CRM systems and Zapier. DEBRA may integrate the bot with internal services: the email integration allows the chatbot to manage a dedicated support inbox, and other connectors could link it to the membership database or event registration system. In future, the chatbot could even handle tasks like updating member records or signing people up for newsletters, not just answering questions.
• Content updates and analytics. As EB research and DEBRA’s programs evolve, the team will regularly update the bot’s knowledge base with new findings and resources. ChatBotKit supports custom data training, so adding information about new treatments or services is straightforward. The team also plans to use ChatBotKit’s analytics to monitor usage: by seeing which questions are asked most often, DEBRA can refine the bot’s answers and expand content. This continuous improvement will keep the chatbot’s information fresh and relevant.

The ChatBotKit AI chatbot has become a valuable extension of DEBRA UK’s services – amplifying its mission by delivering accurate EB information and support instantly to anyone who needs it.