Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Digital Service Delivery topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County approves three-year Citibot chatbot pilot for website; year-one build, cancelable with notice
Summary
The board approved a three-year contract with Citibot for a website chatbot (year 1 $36,800; year 2 $29,300; year 3 $30,765). Staff said the system will be trained during year 1 and can be terminated with 30 days notice and payment for work performed.
Ottawa County commissioners authorized a three-year contract on April 22 to pilot Citibot chatbot software on the county website. The price schedule in the approved contract is $36,800 for year one (implementation and training), $29,300 for year two and $30,765 for year three. Staff told commissioners the vendor would configure and train the bot during the initial months, that AI performance increases with usage and that a 30-day termination clause permits the county to end the contract (paying for work performed and 30 days of service).
Shannon (staff lead on customer service) and technical manager Michael Morrow demonstrated use cases and described an escalation path so unanswered bot queries will route to human follow-up. Commissioners asked for references and for flexibility; staff said the county had solicited 53 RFP responses and Citibot was among the shortlisted vendors with public references. The board approved the contract by roll call; staff noted they could choose a one-year pilot in future if they prefer, but the three-year agreement locks pricing and supports longer-term learning of the AI model.
