Public servants could find themselves replaced with robots sooner than anyone expected with Centrelink soon to step up experiments with "virtual" welfare officers manning the agency's shopfronts around Australia.

Centrelink will soon have two robo-assistants answering questions from the public, one of them about the National Disability Insurance Scheme, the other helping young people with the complexities of claiming student benefits.

Centrelink public servants could soon be replaced by 'virtual assistants'.

If the trials are successful, the virtual assistants look set to be rolled out across other areas of Human Service's vast responsibilities, replacing the traditional public servant behind a desk or at the end of a phone line.

The giant department is already using a virtual assistant called 'Roxy', which answers internal questions from DHS's processing officials.