Ogden unveils chatbot and mobile app to centralize resident service requests and reduce counter visits

Jess Mlullen, who works in the city's management services group, briefed the council on digital tools meant to simplify resident interactions: an Archie chatbot trained on city web content, the Ogden Serve mobile app for service requests, and integrated backend work-order connections that route reports directly to the responsible department.

"Archie is just really configured only for Ogden City web content," Jess said, adding that the tool currently excludes many document repositories and that staff plan to expand document scanning to improve search coverage. She described an upcoming reporting upgrade to help departments identify where the chatbot fails to answer frequent questions and to guide content improvements.

Jess outlined service-level timing by request type: water leaks are monitored 24/7 and prioritized for immediate response; graffiti removal is handled same day when reported; many other requests are configured for a 3- to 5-day response window. She also said the city is close to launching a new utilities payment portal to allow online autopay enrollment.

Council members reported mixed experiences using Archie and recommended that the city continue to improve underlying website content and start indexing document repositories to reduce missed queries. Jess invited council members to in-depth demonstrations of the app and the reporting tools.

The initiative aims to reduce counter visits, provide transparent request tracking for residents and improve data-driven allocation of staff resources.