FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Washtenaw County Government Offers Enhanced Website Experience with Interactive Chat Feature
Functionality Aims to Help Citizens Obtain Rapid Assistance with Civic Service Inquiries
Ann Arbor, MI – October 1, 2020 – Washtenaw County Government is offering a new chatbot feature for its municipal website. Since Washtenaw County municipal offices have been closed in response to the novel coronavirus, both staff and citizens have been more reliant on the community’s website than ever before to help facilitate citizen requests for information, documents, and resources. The leaders at Washtenaw County hope that by adding the chatbot feature to www.washtenaw.org, that citizens will be able to receive a near-immediate response and one-click resolution to their inquiries, thus avoiding phone calls, emails, and other service request channels that are inherently more time-consuming.
The chatbot will appear as an optional pop-up window on the bottom corner of www.washtenaw.org in which users can ask a question, such as, “How do I apply for a building permit?” The chatbot will then provide an automated response. By relying on artificial intelligence (AI) technology to facilitate smart responses to questions, citizens receive immediate assistance, while municipal staff members can remain focused on other strategic service initiatives.
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