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County approves three-year chatbot contract after discussion over cost, privacy and utility
Summary
After a lengthy discussion about cost, scope and customer experience, the Finance and Administration Committee approved a three-year, $96,865 contract with Citibot to add a website chatbot; commissioners sought assurances on data scope, future voice options and implementation oversight.
The Finance and Administration Committee voted to approve a three-year contract with Citibot Inc. to provide chatbot software for the county website, with a total cost of $96,865 and a county commitment to the product as part of a broader customer-service improvement plan.
Scott Vannebosch, an in-house technology specialist, explained Citibot's role and scope during a long discussion that centered on whether the software justifies the cost. "The chatbot is designed to ease the experience for residents when they are looking for services," Vannebosch said, describing the platform's ability to crawl public website content and a separate knowledge base and to hand off unanswered questions to staff.
Commissioners asked about security, cost…
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