AI Assistant for City Residents

The Opportunity:

My team developed a AI Assistant for city residents in collaboration with a city government. The goal through building this POC was to improve the resident’s experience for interacting with the city website through a AI assistant which will answer frequently asked questions.

The Solution:

Provide instant answers to resident FAQ’s about the services provided by the city such as billing, trash, and events. Ability for users to pay their bills through the assistant.

The Result:

Keep residents informed by providing real-time updates on city services and events. Reduce time spent searching for information by introducing new interactive tools on the city website. Improve citizen engagement by making it easier to for residents to share feedback and receive timely information

Case Study

01 — Overview

My Role: AI Conversational Design, UX Designer, UI Design, Design Thinking Workshop Facilitator

Deliverables: AI Assistant UI, conversational flow framework

Team: AI Engineer, Solution Architect

Date: February – May 2025

Constraints: This was a POC, limited user testing

Process

My team was engaged to identify how AI can help support the various goals that the city government has.

  1. AI Roadmap Design Thinking Workshop to discover the possible opportunities and use cases within the city departments
  2. Ideation and Scoping Workshop to identify the prioritized use case and prototype
  3. Regular Co-Creation meetings with the AI Committee stakeholders to co-create the solution and reiterate based on feedback

02 — Discovery & Research

User Research Key Insights

Our target user was the current residents of the city. 

Based on the website data, the most commonly visited pages on the city website were the careers page, pay my bill page, utility billing, and trash pages. 

Resident Persona

Joe is a resident of Avondale since 2019. He has raised his family here and enjoys the community. 

Needs:

  • Joe needs quick access to various services provided by the city
  • Joe relies on the website for regular updates about community activities

Challenges:

  • Oversight: Joe sometimes forgets when events are happening or if he paid his bills. 
  • Frustration: Joe gets frustrated when information he wants to access is not immediately apparent
  • Accessibility: Sometimes Joe may need to navigate through multiple pages 

Solution

AI assistant that can provide instant answers to resident FAQ’s about the services provided by the city such as billing, trash, and events. Ability for users to pay their bills through the assistant.

03 — Prototyping & Development

Conversational Design

I developed multiple chat interactions and the steps users would take while using the AI assistant based on the users most commonly asked questions.

04 — Business Value and Impact

Projected outcomes were:

  • Effectively handle common inquiries about city services and general information for residents
  • Lower staff workload by minimizing simple inquiries
  • Enhance overall resident experience by providing a modernized digital experience

05 — Handoff & Next Steps

The project was handed off to the Sales team to develop the final sales pitch and progress the collaboration with the city.