{"id":35245,"date":"2026-03-19T07:49:43","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T11:49:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/?p=35245"},"modified":"2026-03-19T07:49:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T11:49:45","slug":"city-of-decatur-introduces-decaturdirect-a-new-ai-chatbot-powered-by-ordinal-connect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/19\/city-of-decatur-introduces-decaturdirect-a-new-ai-chatbot-powered-by-ordinal-connect\/","title":{"rendered":"City of Decatur Introduces \u201cDecaturDirect\u201d a New AI Chatbot Powered by Ordinal Connect"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The City of Decatur announced the launch of DecaturDirect, a new AI assistant available on the City\u2019s official website. Designed to make it easier for residents to navigate city information, DecaturDirect offers around-the-clock access to answers about the city.
Whether residents have questions about permits, utility billing or upcoming community events, DecaturDirect allows users to type questions in plain language and receive responses based on the City\u2019s official documents and website content.
\u201cWe are committed to improving how residents interact with their local government,\u201d said Dan Rickord, mayor of Decatur. \u201cDecatur Direct is another step forward in providing convenient, modern access to information while maintaining the accuracy and transparency our community expects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Local Name, Built on Trusted Technology
<\/strong>The City chose the name DecaturDirect to reflect its goal of providing direct, straightforward access to city information. The assistant is powered by Ordinal Connect, a technology platform developed specifically for local governments.
Ordinal Connect serves as the AI engine behind DecaturDirect, training the assistant on the City\u2019s approved documents and public materials. Unlike general-purpose AI tools, it does not generate answers from the open internet. Instead, each response is grounded in Decatur\u2019s official content and provides links to the relevant source pages.
\u201cCities need tools that are both innovative and responsible,\u201d said Jacon Herrington, CEO at Ordinal. \u201cWe\u2019re proud to support Decatur with technology built specifically for municipal use, ensuring residents receive reliable information in the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supporting Residents and Staff
<\/strong>In addition to improving public access, DecaturDirect is expected to help reduce repetitive calls and email inquiries, allowing City staff to dedicate more time to complex requests and in-person service.
Key features of DecaturDirect include:
\u25cf 24\/7 availability on the City\u2019s website
\u25cf Plain-language search for city services and regulations
\u25cf Direct links to official City pages and documents
\u25cf Responses based exclusively on City-approved information<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City officials emphasized that DecaturDirect complements \u2014 not replaces \u2014 traditional customer service channels. Residents may still contact City Hall or individual departments for assistance.
\u201cOur goal is simple,\u201d Rickord said. \u201cMake it easier for residents to get answers and interact with their city government.\u201d
Residents can access Decatur Direct by visiting the City\u2019s official website at https:\/\/www.cityofdecatur.in.gov\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the City of Decatur
The City of Decatur, located in Adams County, Indiana, is a growing community known for its strong manufacturing heritage, civic pride and family-oriented neighborhoods. City leadership is focused on thoughtful development, infrastructure improvements and modern service delivery that supports residents and local businesses alike.
About Ordinal
Ordinal is a technology company focused on helping local governments modernize access to information. Its platform enables cities to securely implement a range of AI knowledge tools, giving both staff and residents faster access to trusted answers and driving efficiency across City Departments.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The City of Decatur announced the launch of DecaturDirect, a new AI assistant available on the City\u2019s official<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[14,15,21],"class_list":["post-35245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-decatur","tag-featured","tag-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35245"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35248,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35245\/revisions\/35248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wzbd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}