City Launches AI-Powered Search on VirginiaBeach.gov

The City of Virginia Beach launched its first search tool powered by artificial intelligence (AI) on Dec. 11 to provide online visitors with improved access to public information through a friendly-to-use interface.  

The search tool, called Beach Bot, can be accessed through a chat icon on every webpage on VirginiaBeach.gov. Beach Bot has access to all of the City’s webpages to index information on department websites, news releases, blogs and calendar events to directly address concerns raised by residents and visitors about the efficiency of the existing site search. 

Chat with Beach Bot 

The difference between Beach Bot and a traditional site search is that Beach Bot is conversational in nature. For example, you can ask the bot, “Where can I find the Planning Commission agendas?”

Beach Bot will return a result with the page, whom to contact with questions, and related information such as the next meeting time.  

Beach Bot can keep up with the conversations in the search chat, so users can ask a follow up question such as, “When do they meet in January?” The bot would provide details about the January Planning Commission meeting. 

Ultimately, Beach Bot is meant to get information to site visitors quickly and accurately, decreasing the time spent browsing individual webpages to find relevant answers to questions by displaying the search results within the chat window. 

Beta Phase 

Users should keep in mind that Beach Bot is limited to content only on VirginiaBeach.gov, and does not include any information about third-party sites. In addition, this phase of the project is a beta product, meaning that some quirks are still being worked out. 

Next to each response is a thumbs-up and thumbs-down icon – if you get a result that isn’t what you expect or isn’t relevant, give it a thumbs down so our development team can review what happened and address the issue. Similarly, a thumbs up lets them know the Beach Bot returned a helpful answer. 

Artificial Intelligence 

Beach Bot is the City’s most recent use of artificial intelligence to improve City services and resident quality of life. Past efforts include: 

• FloodVISION-AI: A network of web cameras with artificial intelligence to monitor water levels. 

• Amazon Connect: Non-emergency call routing system that reduces hold times and prioritizes emergency calls. 

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