Sandy Springs launched its new cutting-edge AI assistant on its public-facing website on June 23 to help users find information about the city, its services, and community activities. The hope is to reduce the need to call or search across multiple pages.
The city joins others in the metro area, such as Atlanta and Peachtree Corners, in working with vendors to develop new technology that introduces citizens to local government operations and helps them find what they’re looking for.
Keith McMellen, director of data strategies, analytics, and AI integration in Sandy Springs, updated elected officials on June 17 about the city website’s new chatbot, how staff is already using artificial intelligence, and pilot programs with outside vendors.
“It’s not a replacement for the call center,” McMellen said. “But, questions like ‘When is the next Sparkle Sandy Springs?’ or ’Who do I contact for trash service?’ can be handled by the chatbot so the call center can deal with more complicated requests.”
Sandy Springs AI assistant
Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul said customer service and innovation are at the core of the city’s priorities.
“This new Sandy Springs AI Assistant delivers on both those fronts,” Paul said. “I’m incredibly proud of the innovation from our staff and partners to develop this AI tool, which puts the power of knowledge at the fingertips of our residents.”
The city’s digital development team developed the AI web assistant in partnership with BizzTech. The AI web assistant is backed by a centralized knowledge base and can answer questions in natural language, guide website navigation, and enable resident self-service from any device, 24 hours a day. It is also multilingual, allowing residents to interact with the city in more than 100 languages.
The benefit for residents or anyone using the city website is instantaneous access to the latest updates on city-sponsored events, emergency road closures, and an answer to any lingering questions.
Because new information added to the site is immediately available through the AI assistant, there’s a reduced risk of confusion and misinformation. The city says it will not store personal data and individual chat logs, respecting the public’s digital privacy.
Read about other Sandy Springs Digital Innovation Initiatives, including a how-to video on interacting with the AI Assistant, here.
Addressing ethics and implementation
Sandy Springs Communications Director Carter Long is a part of the city’s team working to publicize the new technology to Sandy Springs residents and visitors.
“We entered into a six-month, no-cost partnership with BizzTech to develop our Sandy Springs AI Assistant,” Long said. “To achieve content accuracy and automation, we worked with our private sector website partner to develop the agent and content auditing system.”
After questions from council members about data storage and privacy protections, the city’s digital innovation team didn’t have many clear answers. Because Sandy Springs now has its own software tools, city officials say they can tailor them to the specific needs and demands of the community.
Long said protecting users’ data is of the utmost importance, confirming that neither the city nor its vendor BizzTech receives a log of conversations. It also keeps names and IP addresses anonymous.
While Paul said he wanted staff to look into ways for the city and its residents to receive compensation for the program, City Attorney Dan Lee said it would be difficult to monetize public records. Lee also said vendors compensate the city through mutually beneficial, low-cost contracts.
“You’ve come a long way from where we were, and in talking to other cities, there are very few … close to where we are today,” Paul said. “We’re kind of in the avant-garde in this whole area, which is great. We always want to be the leader. We’re working with a number of vendors who are also trying to figure all this stuff out.”
What’s on Sandy Springs’ horizon
So far, the city has spent about $56,000 developing the chatbot, and the contract with BizzTech is $2,000 a month starting in August, Long said.
“Separately, our annual contract with GovAI for enterprise AI is $36,000 per year,” Long said, referencing city staff’s use of AI. “When you look at the average time savings from the pilot, the return on investment is significant.”
The fiscal year 2027 budget includes $883,000 for the Sandy Springs Office of Innovation & Delivery.
The community development department and its permitting and licensing software vendor, OpenGov, are collaborating on new AI features to reduce the average number of cycles a permit is reviewed, according to the city’s June 23 announcement. The first phase, focused on the intake of applications and documents, is under review with feedback and iteration to be completed this summer.
The city’s digital development team also previewed further integrating AI technology into the day-to-day work of running the city and creating council meeting summaries.
McMellen said his team’s goal is to make it easy to share and analyze data across departments and integrate software to reduce duplication of work. He said he wants the public to be able to see the exact status of permits during the process.
“The question we keep asking ourselves as we delve further is, does this actually make service delivery better, and is it helping residents ?” McMellen said. “Of course, we have to balance cost, time, and benefit. Yeah, we can modernize … what benefit will the residents see?”
