Dane County has introduced an artificial intelligence assistant to answer calls to Madison’s non-emergency public safety line, as officials look to ease pressure on dispatchers and keep them available for urgent calls. Called Ava, the automated assistant now answers calls to 608-255-2345. The county’s other non-emergency line, 608-266-4948, serves county residents. County Executive Melissa Agard and Public Safety Communications Department Director Luis Bixler announced Ava’s rollout Aug. 18 at the City-County Building in downtown Madison. Ava asks callers about themselves and their situation, then provides directions based on their answers. It also flags keywords for dispatchers and prepares a transcript and summary for a human communicator to review. Dispatchers determine whether follow-up is needed. Dane County emergency communicators handled 375,000 calls last year, including more than 200,000 non-emergency calls, Agard said. Bixler said Ava could free up to 60% of the non-emergency call volume. That could allow a staff member to monitor those calls while dispatchers focus on 911 calls, he said. The county’s transition to Next Generation 911 has enabled the center to take an unlimited number of 911 calls at once, Bixler said, compared with seven before the upgrade. But a single major incident can still overwhelm staff as multiple calls arrive alongside other emergencies. The center’s average answer time is about 10 to 15 seconds, Bixler said earlier this summer. The assistant is one of Aurelian’s emergency-response products. Other Wisconsin communities, including Waukesha and La Crosse, also use technology to handle non-emergency calls. Officials elsewhere have reported lower call volumes and improvements in dispatcher workload and response times, though the use of AI in public safety also raises concerns about data security and whether automated systems can match human judgment and empathy. Agard said information handled by Ava would remain “closed-loop,” and described the system as a way to help trained staff be ready when urgent calls come in. Bixler said the annual cost is about $180,000, with a state Office of Emergency Communications grant covering most of the expense. Residents who need police, fire or ambulance help in an emergency should still call 911, Agard said.