Elgin plans to add a “chatbot” function to the myriad ways residents can obtain city information electronically.
The text service will enhance what’s already available through the city’s website, portal, social media outlets and 311 call center, Chief Technology Officer Aaron Cosentino said. Because getting information is not always so easy, this will offer a bridge for people looking for an answer to a specific question or having difficulty navigating the city’s website because of a language barrier or governmental term confusion.
Generative AI, like Google Gemini, has exploded so much over the last 24 months that the technology is now more affordable than it’s ever been, Cosentino said.
The city will be working with Citibot, a South Carolina-based company, to create the text-based chatbot at a cost of $30,000 a year for the next three years, he said.
Once it’s in place, residents can text a question like “How do I get a permit for a fence?” and receive a real-time answer in a way that’s like interacting with a human, Cosentino said.
“It’s so exciting for us because it will help residents wade through the bureaucratese and legalese that we all see on our city’s website,” Cosentino said. “(Residents) shouldn’t have to know our language to get their answer.”
Citibot will work with staff to design the chatbot, provide marketing and generate data about usage, evaluating things like the most asked questions and other analytics, said Bratton Riley, company founder and CEO. The chatbot has 71 languages, and every answer will come from city content, he said.
One big goal is to reach people who live in Elgin but aren’t interacting with the city, Riley said.
“Our mission has nothing to do with AI,” Riley said. “Our mission is to serve every resident, no matter how much money they make, what their skin color looks like or what language they speak,” he said. “Every single resident deserves to have high-quality engagement and high-quality customer service with their city.”
The company takes a multichannel approach to engagement that’s web-based and text-based, Riley said. Because an estimated 97% of adults text, Citibot tries to meet residents where they are comfortable communicating, he said.
People just want to get their questions answered and move on with their day, Riley said.
The chatbot doesn’t have a name yet, prompting Elgin City Councilwoman Tish Powell to suggest at last week’s council meeting that the public get involved.
“I’m feeling a contest,” Powell said. “I think folks in our community could come up with something creative.”
The name is as unique to the city as the design, Riley said. For example, the chatbot created for the city of Denver was named Sunny, he said. It becomes part of a city’s brand, he said.
This not the city’s first foray into the world of artificial intelligence. It recently started using AI to provide Spanish translation for its city council meetings on its YouTube channel, Cosentino said.
The city is also redesigning its website, which should be done by April, he said.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
