Alexa now answering questions for Orange County residents

Orange County government offers assistance through Alexa

Orange County government is now on Alexa. You can ask the device to assist 6,000 questions related to county operations.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - To ask a question, all you have to do is start it with "Alexa, ask Orange County," and with that, Alexa is now prepared to answer 6,000 questions for citizens of Orange County.

“A person won’t even have to leave the comfort of their couch to ask a question or be directed to the right area, so no waiting in lines, no having to go to a building, no even having to use a computer,” said Peter Miller, Chief Security Officer, Orange County.

The questions loaded into Alexa, are the most-asked by residents.

“As citizens call 311 and ask questions to us, we keep a database of all that information, so the initial input of information was based off of that, so we know we’re going directly to our citizens' needs because they’re calling and asking that,” said Miller.

Information about County services, like trash collection and recycling. Critical emergency information is also available.

“Every hurricane season, we have lots of questions come in and in the event that something does happen in Central Florida, we’re able to update that in real-time,” said Miller.

The answers can be updated at any time to reflect changes or updates to procedures or policies. The County hopes to expand the capabilities to allow residents to pay bills and take other actions through the device.