December 1, 2025

Virginia Beach IT Department Recognized for Positive Impacts on Resident Services

The City of Virginia Beach continues to rank high among the nation’s top digital cities.

IT Department staff accepting Digital Cities Survey Award

Thanks to efforts to streamline how residents and visitors access information online about City programs and services, Virginia Beach has been recognized as one of the most forward-thinking cities in the United States. The Center for Digital Government recognized these efforts, which were led by the City's Department of Information Technology (IT). 

The City’s ongoing efforts to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) tools and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the digital space were among the top reasons for its recognition. The City ranked third in the category for cities with a population of 250,000-499,999. 

Chief among the City’s accomplishments is the use of Amazon Connect, an AI-powered tool that is designed to divert non-emergency calls that would otherwise be managed by live agents in Emergency Communications & Citizen Services. The tool has reduced the number of calls by 36%, freeing up valuable staff resources to focus on emergency calls. The AI tool handles the calls, transferring the calls to the appropriate departments or responding by text message, ensuring timely and accurate responses to inquiries. 

In addition, an AI-powered chatbot was deployed on the Public Library website to help users find information without using a traditional search bar. The bot streamlines searching for information, reducing the amount of time users spend searching for answers on individual webpages. This functionality will be deployed to other department sites and the City’s homepage soon. 

Compliance with ADA has been a priority for the City to ensure that all website visitors, regardless of ability, can access information about City services and programs with ease. These efforts have led to a 100% compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) on 17 sites, with the remaining sites ranging from 92% to 96% compliance. The WCAG 2.2 standard is the current internationally accepted criteria for making accessible web content. 

The IT department has been consistently recognized for its accomplishments in the digital space at the state and national level, including the following: 

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