A new option to find the City information you are looking for has arrived. CoBy, the City’s first AI-powered digital assistant, can be found on the City’s website, burlington.ca.

This customer service enhancement provides 24/7 access to a wealth of city information and services. With a simple click, residents, businesses, and visitors can pose questions and receive real-time, AI-generated responses, based on the extensive knowledge gathered from burlington.ca.

CoBy is not just a digital assistant, it is an ever-evolving digital entity, designed to learn, adapt, and improve from every interaction, ensuring an enriched user experience.

The City of Burlington is one of the first municipalities in Canada to launch a generative AI digital assistant, created with Microsoft Copilot Studio. We want to hear about your experiences using CoBy.

How CoBy works

Web users will find a welcoming green conversation bubble icon in the bottom right-hand corner of every web page on burlington.ca. Users can click the icon and enter a question for CoBy about the city. The digital assistant then uses Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) technology to quickly and efficiently provide the information requested.

The new digital assistant is currently in the beta phase of development, ready for testing. CoBy will continue to develop over time, influenced by the customer requests it receives, patterns learned through generative AI, and the addition of new data sources on the City’s website and beyond. Users can provide feedback on their experience with CoBy at getinvolvedburlington.ca/digitaltransformation.

Burlington is a city where people, nature and businesses thrive. Sign up to learn more about Burlington at Burlington.ca/Enews and follow @CityBurlington on social media.

Quick Facts

The digital assistant initiative is connected to the City’s four-year work plan called Burlington’s Plan from Vision to Focus 2022-2026 through two areas of focus - providing the best services and experiences and driving organizational performance. Key objectives for these areas include:

• Creating a positive customer and staff experience every time
• Expanding and enhancing opportunities to engage, listen and respond to our community
• Being proactive to our growing and changing community needs
• Prioritizing projects and initiatives to optimize City staff and technology resources
• Efficient and effective service delivery
• Being agile and innovative to inspire people, streamline processes, and leverage technology