City launches demonstration of 'Ask Berkeley' chatbot, plans July rollout

Communications Director Caitlin Flora demonstrated "Ask Berkeley," a new AI-powered chatbot built in partnership with REPT, and told the council the tool is budgeted and tentatively scheduled to launch later this month pending contract review.

Flora said the chatbot will pull answers directly from the city's website and may offer short videos recorded by staff experts for topics that benefit from a human explanation. "The videos are not created by AI," she emphasized; the chatbot retrieves existing website content or staff-produced videos.

She told council the communications team will review and edit the scripts REPT suggests and that the team will run monthly reports on the types of questions residents ask. That data will be used to identify information gaps and shape future communications.

Council members asked about data collection and privacy. One council member asked whether questions are anonymous; Flora said they are. "We won't have access to information about anyone who submitted the questions," she said, and staff will receive aggregated, anonymized reports.

Flora said neighboring cities that use REPT include Milford, Traverse City and Port Huron, and that the city sees this tool as a way to "humanize local government" and improve transparency. Staff said launch timing is subject to review of the contract and consent-agenda approval.

Why it matters: A chatbot that draws on official city content could streamline routine resident inquiries and help staff spot information gaps, but it raises common questions about data privacy, accuracy of automated answers and the need for human oversight. Council members' questions at the first demonstration focused on anonymization and editorial control.

What happens next: Staff expects to launch the tool later this month if the consent-agenda contract review is completed.