The City of ΑπΑ§ΙρΙηβs newest employee has been uploaded and theyβre ready to answer frequently asked questions about the cityβs COVID-19 response.
Citybot, a chatbot program designed to simulate a human-like conversation, now resides on the homepage of the cityβs website. Launched Dec. 7, the city says the bot responded to more than 200 COVID-19-related questions. Currently, the bot has not yet been programmed to discuss non-COVID topics.
βRight now, the ΑπΑ§ΙρΙη Citybot is programmed to answer questions about COVID-19 and is being monitored and trained by staff to become better over time,β said Andreas Boehm, intelligent cities manager at the City of ΑπΑ§ΙρΙη. βWe wanted to start small because we are still learning, as is the chatbot. Citybot doesnβt know it all, but it will do its best to provide good customer service anytime, day or night.β
In the future, the city plans to expand Citybotβs abilities to include more city business and potentially integrate the bot with online city services.
βEventually, weβd love to see the Citybot not only provide accurate answers to usersβ questions but also be able to do things on their behalf, like report an issue or register for a recreation program,β said Boehm. βBut, if we are dreaming big, weβd love to see Citybot become a voice-activated option with enhanced accessibility for tapping into city information and services.β
To try out the bot, visit and click on the chat icon on the bottom right side of the screen.
READ MORE: ΑπΑ§ΙρΙη Regional Transit to receive $7.3M in provincial, federal grant
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