For the homeless, applying for government housing can be a complicated process. Even if they do everything right, housing is not guaranteed. They need a strong case.
Depending on the case and lawyer, legal aid for a government housing application (a legal process where lawyers argue for free or low-cost accommodation) can cost between $65 to $200 - money that applicants don't necessarily have.
But with the help of a bot made by 19 year-old British programmer Joshua Browder, the application costs nothing and takes only about 30 seconds.
The online bot handles questions about government housing in the UK, where an estimated 185,000 people become homeless every year. Since the bot launched August 10, Browder tells Business Insider that several hundred people have used it.