Ogden City launches new AI assistant ‘Archie’
Feb 5, 2025, 11:55 AM | Updated: 12:05 pm
Washington Street in Ogden is pictured on Tuesday September 29, 2020. (Jeffrey D. Allred/Deseret News)
(Jeffrey D. Allred/Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Ogden City is using a new AI web assistant in an effort to better serve residents.
Mayor Ben Nadolski announced his State of the City address on Jan. 29, calling the AI a “data-driven customer service portal.”
Ogden’s AI assistant, nicknamed “Archie,” brings an “increased level of service” to residents, according to Communications Director Mike McBride.
McBride told Jeff Caplan’s Afternoon News that the nickname came about through an iconic Ogden image.
“If you’re familiar with Ogden then you’ve certainly seen the Ogden Arch that goes over Washington Boulevard,” he said. “It’s an iconic symbol in our community and so we wanted to play off something like that and we came up with ‘Archie’ and it was the winning name.”
Washington Street in Ogden is pictured on Tuesday, September 29, 2020. (Jeffrey D. Allred/Deseret News)
What does the Ogden AI assistant do?
McBride said “Archie” scans the city’s website every day to be able to answer user questions.
To ask questions, users can go to Ogden City’s website or text “hello” to 888-232-2724.
“So it scans for content and answers back,” McBride said. “It puts it right at the tip of our user’s fingers. It’s a pretty good tool.”
McBride said there are nearly 2,000 pages on the city’s website so “Archie” helps streamline the process.
The chatbot can also create service requests and connect people to city staff.
“With ‘Archie,’ it’s really just a conversation with this assistant and it routes the question or service request to the appropriate place,” McBride said.
Ogden’s AI assistant has an hourly price tag of about $2.05 per hour, or about $18,000 a year.
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