In an effort to make the City’s DataHub more accessible and leverage the use of technology, the City of Johns Creek launched its own Amazon Alexa “skill,” which will use open data to answer City-related questions via the virtual assistant.
Johns Creek is the first City in the world to use open data with Amazon Alexa, which pulls information from the Johns Creek website and DataHub to answer users’ questions.
The DataHub portal holds large amounts of City-generated data like code compliance information, building permits, fire and police data, and more.
Amazon Alexa users can download the City of Johns Creek “skill,” which can answer questions about available jobs, the City event and meeting calendar, in addition to data-related questions.
For example, Alexa users can request, “Alexa, ask the City of Johns Creek when the next City Council meeting is scheduled,” and the virtual assistant will reply with the meeting date, time and location.
The Johns Creek Alexa skill, which only provides information and does not collect any, is one additional tool among many that residents can use to access information regarding the city.
In 2018, the City of Johns Creek won the Best Practices Award for Amazon’s “
City on a Cloud Innovation Challenge.” Johns Creek was the first city in the world to use open data with Amazon Alexa.
Watch the Amazon Alexa video.