February 6, 2025 – A pilot project for stcatharines.ca is giving residents more help
finding their way around the City’s website. Meet Catharine, an AI-powered digital
assistant who is here to help anytime, anywhere.
The new feature will enhance website searches and help residents find what they are
looking with quick and reliable answers about City services, water bills, property taxes,
recreational activities, and more. The digital assistant, by Microsoft Copilot Studio, uses
artificial intelligence to understand questions or comments and respond in a
conversational way based on information on the City’s website.
“Catharine enhances the City's website by making it more accessible for users,
providing easy access to information, City services, recreational activities, and much
more," said Jonathan Wright, the City’s manager of customer service. "Catharine guides
residents effortlessly to the information they need, promoting a simple and efficient way
to access services and information right at their fingertips."
Wright said the search bar on the City’s website's can sometimes be tricky to navigate
when it requires specific keywords and phrasing to retrieve information. That’s where
Catharine comes in! Catharine responds to inquiries with friendly conversation to
understand exactly what you're looking for; ensures you find what you need or guides
you further if necessary. If Catharine can't assist directly, the digital assistant will offer to
email your inquiry to Citizens First, who will follow up during regular business hours.
Like other language models powered by artificial intelligence, Catharine will learn with
every interaction, continually improving its ability to interpret and respond to questions.
While the digital assistant does collect and store data from each conversation, security
measures are in place to protect user data and ensure privacy. Catharine will collect
name, email or phone if the user wants the digital assistant to email Citizens First to
assist further with their inquiry.
Click the Catharine icon in the bottom right-hand corner on every City webpage to start
chatting with Catharine.