The City of Ann Arbor has launched a new virtual assistant to help answer residents’ questions.
“Ask Ann” is an automated web chat assistant that will help people find information that’s available through the city’s website. It uses the technologies behind large language models and conversational artificial intelligence.
Ann Arbor Communications Specialist Robert Kellar says the idea came about as the city was looking for new ways to answer questions from the public.
“This was an opportunity we had been talking about employing for some time. And finally, we’re able to coalesce around kind of an idea and a tool with which to deploy the idea.”
Ask Ann can communicate in 71 different languages. If someone needs further assistance, they can send a message to a member of the city staff who can respond during business hours.
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