The city of Midland has officially launched a pair of tools as part of its larger customer service makeover so that residents will have an easier time interacting with the city.
At the City Council meeting Tuesday, Chief of Staff Taylor Novak and Project Manager Kiara Taylor demonstrated SeeClickFix and Ask Jacky.
SeeClickFix is a way for residents to report non-emergency issues they see around town, such as potholes, graffiti and broken parks equipment.
The city has had a service like this for a while, but Taylor said the old system was antiquated, as well as cumbersome because it required creating a login.
Now, users can submit their item details easily and get updates on its progress.
Novak said a big benefit of SeeClickFix is that it lessens the reliance of reporting issues via phone calls and emails.
Novak told City Council that in May more than 150 employees received intensive customer service training, and the city is trying to eliminate the time-consuming — and annoying — practice of phone transfers for resident questions.
City staff were surveyed about the most frequently asked questions they receive, and the answers have been put into a database accessible to all employees so that solutions can be delivered faster.
With the implementation of Ask Jacky, an AI virtual assistant embedded in the city's website, the city hopes to reduce the need for phone calls even further.
Taylor said Ask Jacky is not ChatGPT.
"It doesn't scan the web to provide information," she said.
Rather, it's trained internally, and answers will change as information changes. The chatbot can provide immediate information on several topics such as city services and events.
SeeClickFix is available on the city's website as well as through an app on the App Store and Google Play. Ask Jacky is available on city webpages.
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