Alexa - What is My Water Bill?
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Technology
Detroiters can now ask Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN’s Alexa virtual assistant about their water bill, thanks to technology designed by a 24-year-old University of Michigan grad student.
The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department’s customer care portal went live Aug. 21, and since then nearly 4,000 customers have paid $2 million in bills using a smartphone, tablet or laptop, according to a press release.
Representative image, Source: Pixabay
Abess Makki, who has a fellowship at Michigan's Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, founded the company CityInsight in 2014 with the goal of improving the relationship between utilities and their customers after the city began shutting off residents with unpaid bills en masse.
“This technology is a win for everyone,” Makki said in a statement. “CityInsight enables Detroit to collect more revenue, have more satisfied customers and promote smart consumer habits.”
Alexa's Detroit water bill skill came together after Makki contacted an Amazon employee he found on LinkedIn and received a response within 10 minutes, according to a release.
Detroit is a hub for innovation, Makki said.
Read full article: Benzinga
Media
Taxonomy
- Water Supply
- Metering
- Urban Water
- Water Supply
- Water Utility
- Urban Water Supply
- Consumption
- Meters
- Utility Management
- Smart Metering (AMI)