"Hi, this is the health office," said the voice on the phone. "Can we kindly take a minute of your time to learn more about your health condition?"

It's not uncommon to receive such a call amid the COVID-19 outbreak, though for some the conversation has had a highly technological element.

Beginning in late March, some residents in South Korea have received such calls not from human beings, but from an artificial intelligence-enabled system.

Launched by the Chinese AI pioneer iFlytek and South Korean software company Hancom, the AI system is designed to help South Korea better track people who have had close contact with confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus.

"The system can improve the efficiency of screening potentially affected people, " said Wu Xiaoru, rotating president of iFlytek. "It can also be used to keep track of the health situation of discharged patients in order to reduce the burden on front-line medical workers."

The move is part of broader efforts by Chinese companies to leverage their technological prowess to help foreign nations in the global battle against the pandemic, as confirmed cases around the world rise dramatically.