Auckland Council has launched a new web-based AI assistant for reporting graffiti, illegal dumping, roaming dogs, missed bin collections, and party/people noise.
‘Ask Auckland Council’ represents smart, responsible and pioneering use of AI by a major local body in Aotearoa New Zealand to address a known source of frustration for Aucklanders – reporting problems, starting with some of the most common.
Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown says it’s important for the council to stay up to speed with using digital tools.
“It’s about using technology to make life easier for people and meet demand for simple, convenient ways to engage with council. AI assistants get better the more information they receive, so Aucklanders can help us make it better for them just by using it,” says Mayor Brown.
Ask Auckland Council is far more sophisticated than a simple chatbot. As a conversational AI assistant, it can understand everyday language, understand people and place names in te reo Māori, ask follow-up questions, check it’s got the facts right and quickly analyse an uploaded photo of the problem.
The tool, which went live on 13 April, can be accessed on a smartphone, computer, tablet or any device via a web browser. More problem categories will be added over the coming months, and the AI assistant will also tell users how to report other problems.
Meanwhile, the council is working on speeding up internal processes so that reported problems can get fixed faster.
Auckland Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson says the launch marks the culmination of work she initiated with the mayor.
“Seeing the idea now brought to life - and working so well for real users – is incredibly pleasing.
“We built this virtual assistant with Aucklanders, for Aucklanders. People told us the old reporting tools were frustrating and confusing. We listened and worked hard to deliver an AI solution that’s more intuitive, easier and quicker to use, and safe and secure.
“It’s also simple to access through the website, and you can save it as a web app so it’s right there on your phone whenever you need it. We encourage Aucklanders to add it to their home screen and make it part of their everyday toolkit.”
An initial launch to 1000 people in February showed the AI assistant is almost twice as easy to use as existing channels. Eighty per cent of users found the new tool easy to use compared to 42 per cent using existing reporting methods.
Ask Auckland Council supports and complements the work of council staff and streamlines problem reporting.
Group Shared Services, which provides back-office services to the Auckland Council Group, worked closely with the council to develop the tool.
Ask Auckland Council complies with privacy, legal and security standards. It has built-in checks and balances to ensure accuracy, and guardrails to prevent inappropriate comments and behaviour and spot false information.
Deputy Mayor Simpson says the AI tool is a prime example of how the council is working with Group Shared Services to harness new technology to better serve Aucklanders.
“Depending on how Aucklanders like using this technology, it could eventually serve as an AI-powered ‘single front door’ to Auckland Council for services and information – the ‘one stop shop’ that people have been asking for,” she says.
A link to the tool is located on the Report a problem page on the Auckland Council website. Aucklanders can still use existing channels to report a problem.
For more information: https://ask.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/