Alexa Users Can Now “Ask Orange County”

Orange County Government in Florida now offers “Ask Orange County Government” app/skill through Amazon’s Alexa –– a virtual assistant capable of voice interaction. The “Ask Orange County Government” app/skill through Alexa is an extension of the County’s 311 service, which helps residents connect with local government services. Orange County is the first county in Florida to incorporate the Alexa virtual assistant.

“Incorporating this technology provides people with an easy and convenient way to ask questions about the County and access County-related information,” said Peter Miller, Enterprise IT Security Manager. “There are thousands of questions already loaded on Alexa, and they’re based on the most frequently asked questions that we have received through our 311 service.”

Orange County chose the Amazon Alexa platform due to its increasing popularity and market share, with more than 100 million devices on the market. You can ask Alexa thousands of questions and get informative responses, and the County plans to continue to add more knowledge to the virtual assistant as time goes by.

Some of the questions people can currently ask, and get answered, include, “Who is the mayor?,” “Who are the commissioners?,” “How do I adopt an animal?,” “What can I recycle?,” “What do I do with yard waste?,” and “How do I prepare for a hurricane?”

Residents can set up the “Ask Orange County” Skill through Alexa by stating to Alexa:

 “Alexa, Enable the Orange County Government Skill”

After enabling the skill, you can begin asking questions with a specific phrase:

 “Alexa, Ask Orange County…”

“The amount of information Alexa can provide is extensive,” added Miller. “From how to get a library card to how to get rid of mosquitoes, or from where to place trash bags to how to contact the Florida Forest Service, we have it covered and are continuing to add additional questions.”