To stay at the forefront of technology and to create new ways to connect with its residents, the City of Port St. Lucie has integrated the City’s website calendar with Alexa, digital assistance developed by Amazon.com. The "Ask Alexa" integration is the beginning of a new communication channel for residents to receive information from the City of Port St. Lucie.
Currently, customers with an Amazon Echo, Amazon Dot, or any other Alexa-enabled device can use Alexa to "Ask PSL Events Calendar" about City events and meetings occurring within the City. The Alexa Skill will read the event or meeting dates or display them if the device has a screen. The results include the date, time, location and weblink. The skill also has the reminders feature enabled to allow residents to create event reminders. When there are multiple events, residents can use the “Alexa skip” or “Alexa next” feature to find an event they are interested in.
“This voice platform is a part of the City’s effort to better communicate with residents,” said City Manager Russ Blackburn. “Whether it’s through Alexa, web, mobile or person-to-person communication, we can’t communicate enough. The Alexa Skill also supports the City’s overall goal of increasing transparency and accessibility to information, as well to encourage more engagement with the public.”
Once residents have enabled the City of Port St. Lucie’s platform from the Alexa Skills store, they can ask questions such as, “Alexa, ask PSL Events Calendar what event is happening today, next week or on a specific day?” The data is updated every two hours. Many more features could be added to the Skill as we receive user feedback. Eventually, the City plans to add the City’s voice technology to handle multiple platforms such as Google Home, Siri, and chatbots.
Instructions
To enable the Skill on your Alexa-enabled device, just say "Alexa, enable PSL Events Calendar skill.”
For more information, please visit the City of Port St. Lucie Skill on Amazon.
