While it may not be hiring the HAL 9000, the District of Sechelt has taken a step forward into the world of artificial intelligence.
Instead of finding themselves locked outside of an airlock orbiting Jupiter, Coast residents should have a much easier time sifting through the information on the District of Sechelt’s website.
Council passed a resolution approving spending $7,000 to implement an AI-powered site search solution in their regular meeting on Dec. 6.
The upgraded search engine would optimize the way citizens access information, and would “put the website user in control of their search,” while creating an intelligent, guided search experience, according to a staff report on the agenda.
The district has received requests from residents to improve the online experience on the district’s website. Topics such as meeting minutes, agendas and bylaws are difficult to find through the site’s keyword search.
The proposed search tool would also improve how PDF files are accessed on the website, as well as provide the district with analytical data on the most searched topics to create a higher quality user experience.
Council resolved the money would be taken from Sechelt’s COVID-19 Safe Restart Grant, which has $288,333 remaining.
Coun. Alton Toth asked for clarification if this would be a one-time cost or a recurring fee.
Hash Manickum, manager of information technology, who presented the report, answered that it would be a subscription fee of $7,000 per year.
Manickum added that this is one of the top three software solutions available, that the service is used by many municipalities across Canada and that AI powered search features are becoming increasingly popular.
Coun. Adam Shepherd spoke against the proposal, saying the search issue does not warrant such a high annual fee.
Manickum explained that roughly 45 per cent of visitors to the District of Sechelt’s website use the search bar to explore instead of navigating through the site, highlighting the importance of providing an effective search tool.
A side benefit to integrating this system with the district’s public site is that the employee website, art festival website and archive website would also have access to the improved search engine, Manickum said.
“This gives us sort of a one-year pilot project where we can see how it affects things and if it does improve things before we commit to really funding it permanently,” said Coun. Toth. “I have a lot of concerns about $7,000 a year but I also have a lot of concerns about our current search capabilities on our website.”
Council passed the resolution, with only Coun. Shepherd opposed.
Jordan Copp is the Coast Reporter’s civic and Indigenous affairs reporter. This reporting beat is made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.
