19 March 2026
LGOIMA No. 8140018616
(Please quote this in any correspondence)
David Logan
By Email:
[FYI request #33773 email] Tēnā koe David
Local Government Official Information And Meetings Act 1987
Council AI Chatbot
Thank you for your information request dated 19 February 2026, regarding the Ask Auckland
Council AI Agent. The specific details of your request and our response is below.
I was recently made aware of a new Ask Auckland Chatbot being implemented on the
Auckland Council website. Please provide full amount of funds that have been allocated
or already invested into this initiative and the forecast impact on FTE for employees of
Auckland Council.
The Ask Auckland Council (AI Agent) initiative was funded through Auckland Council’s
Customer Experience budget. The initiative aligns with council’s strategy to make it easier
for Aucklanders to communicate with council, including finding information, requesting
services and reporting issues. As of mid-February 2026, approximately $1 million had been
invested in the development of the tool. Some of this investment has also supported other
related customer experience improvements such as simplifying the end-to-end process for
reporting and resolving illegal dumping, graffiti and roaming dogs across all customer
channels, including our Contact Centre – not just the AI assistant. It's also supported work
to streamline our processes for resolving those problems. For example, reducing the
questions we ask when reporting problems.
In relation to forecast impact on FTE positions, no specific FTE reductions or increases have
been formally attributed to the implementation of the AI Agent. The tool is intended to
support existing customer service functions by improving access to information and
assisting with daily enquiries. It is not being implemented as a workforce reduction initiative
but rather to respond to the needs of Aucklanders.
For more details on Auckland Council’s customer experience priorities and budget, please
consult our latest Annual Report availabl
e here.
Decisions regarding the information being released to you were made by Ethan Howard,
Service Design Lead - Business Improvement & Enterprise Change.
Private Bag 92300, Auckland 1142 |
aucklandcouncil.govt.nz |
Ph 09 301 0101
Should you believe Auckland Council has not responded appropriately to your request you
have the right to seek a review of the decision from the Ombudsman.
If you have any further queries please contact me on 09 301 0101, quoting LGOIMA No.
8140018616.
Ngā mihi
Jenny Hua
Senior Privacy & Official Information Business Partner
Customer Experience & Digital Services
Private Bag 92300, Auckland 1142 |
aucklandcouncil.govt.nz |
Ph 09 301 0101
