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City of Albuquerque/Oracle Partnership Will Let Residents Use Amazon Alexa to Access 311

Albuquerque will be first city to utilize Alexa to generate service tickets

April 13, 2018

The City of Albuquerque announced a partnership with Oracle to pilot a program that will allow residents to use an Amazon Alexa or Alexa-enabled device to contact 311 and generate service tickets for seven common issues.

The service was unveiled in Chicago the week of April 9, 2018 at the Oracle Modern Customer Experience Conference, where it was featured in keynote and breakout sessions. 

Albuquerque residents will be able to access the service on April 18, 2018. Once launched, users will simply need to say "Alexa, open Albuquerque 311" to use their Alexa or Alexa-enabled device to report issues.

The service will let Albuquerque residents use their Alexa or Alexa-enabled device to report abandoned vehicles, report missed trash pickup, request large item pickups, report weed and litter violations, report graffiti, or look up the status of a 311 ticket.

Citizens can also use Alexa to answer more than 100 frequently-asked questions, including the address, phone number, hours of operations, admission fees, and holiday information about city-owned museums, golf courses, pools, tennis facilities, multigenerational centers, and BioPark facilities.

“This service will allow us to offer residents an innovative way to get the services they need,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “This also helps us make the most effective and efficient use of 311 resources.”

“The Alexa service is not intended to replace 311 agents at the City’s Citizen Contact Center, but will simply add to the portfolio of channels that citizens can use to ask questions and report issues,” said Department of Technology and Innovation Director Peter Ambs. “The service will be available 24 hours a day, which extends the availability of 311 beyond the current 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday that 311 operators work.”

The Alexa service was developed after the Department of Technology and Innovation asked Oracle, the vendor that provides the 311 software, about integrating the two systems.

It’s important to note that Alexa does not respond to 911 inquiries. People still need to dial 911 for emergencies.  Alexa is the voice assistant with the largest market share in the United States. For now, the free Alexa app is only available on Android phones.