Bonneville County and Idaho Falls announce ‘AI Annie’ that will answer non-emergency calls for dispatch
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IDAHO FALLS — The Bonneville County & Idaho Falls Emergency Communications Center (ECC) has announced a new AI named “Annie” to assist with answering and directing emergency calls.
According to a news release from the City of Idaho Falls, the AI was launched using Aurelian, an AI-powered voice assistant, and is designed to reduce the burden of non-emergency calls.
The city says the AI will “allow our emergency communications officers to devote their full attention to genuine emergencies.”
AI Annie has reportedly been integrated and trained for the ECC over the last several weeks and is now answering all calls to the non-emergency dispatch number, 208-529-1200.
In Bonneville County, 911 calls and calls to the non-emergency dispatch number are all answered by the same team of emergency communications officers (ECOs), that handle all incoming calls and dispatches for all first responder agencies in Bonneville County, including Idaho Falls Police, Idaho Falls Fire, Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office, the Bonneville County Fire District, Ucon Fire, Ucon Police, and the Swan Valley Fire Department.
“Over the last five years, the Bonneville County & Idaho Falls ECC has averaged 211,000 calls into the center and dispatched 115,000 incidents to first responders each year,” the release says. “Despite what many may think, this enormous responsibility is handled by a relatively small team of dedicated emergency communications officers, commonly called dispatchers.”
The city says many emergency communications centers across the field struggle with staffing, turnover and fatigue.
“ECOs often move from call to call, with little to no downtime between those calls,” the release says. “During busy times, callers may have to wait, call back, or be placed on hold while ECOs handle higher-priority 911 and emergency calls.”
According to the release, AI Annie will assist the ECO team by offloading routine, repetitive, non-urgent calls (e.g., noise complaints, road hazards, general inquiries), so dispatchers can concentrate on urgent, life-saving emergency and complex calls that require a live ECO.
“Before Aurelian, emergency communications officers spent a great deal of time answering calls that should have been placed to other county or city entities like police records, utilities, the courts and others,” the release says. “With AI Annie now in place, rather than tying up an ECO with those calls and transfers, AI Annie can transfer callers to the right place, and ECOs can focus on emergency calls.”
The city states that before introducing AI Annie, non-emergency callers frequently had to wait for an available ECO to answer their call.
“During busy times or when multiple 911 calls were coming in, callers may have had to wait, call back, or be placed on hold mid-call for ECOs to handle emergency calls,” the release says. “Because there’s zero hold time or competition with emergency calls, callers get immediate engagement and resolution when possible.”
AI Annie is able to text callers links to online reporting and other common online resources, and is also available in Spanish.
“A language line has been used for many years and continues to be used by ECOs for many other languages,” the release says.
Do I have to speak slower and more clearly to AI Annie?
According to the city, callers should continue speak in a normal tone of voice and at their usual speed.
“There is no need to talk louder or slower. Callers should provide two or three sentences explaining the reason for their call, just like if they were speaking to a live person,” the release says. While AI Annie is clearly identifiable as an AI tool, there’s no “press 1 for …” menu, only a conversational interface designed to feel natural.”
AI Annie will reportedly ask follow-up questions, clarify information, and guide the caller through the process.
“All AI-handled calls are recorded and generate logs, transcripts, and summaries that can be audited or checked for accuracy or issues,” the release says. “All calls handled by AI Annie are reviewed by ECOs for accuracy, then dispatched to first responders.”
AI Annie is trained to monitor for sounds and situations that indicate the call should be transferred immediately and seamlessly to a live ECO. All 911 calls will continue to be answered by live emergency communications officers.
“Since the start of the rollout in early September, AI Annie has had a success rate of 94%, a number that increases as the system continues to be trained and refined,” the city says. “The center has also seen a 62% reduction in the rate of non-emergency calls, meaning that 62% of calls to the non-emergency line were able to be handled entirely by AI Annie. The remaining 38% of calls have been transferred to ECOs.”
Is this AI replacing human dispatchers?
The city says no.
“Aurelian is designed to assist, not replace. It absorbs non-critical load so that dispatchers can do what they’re trained to do: handle emergency calls,” the release says. “This team already runs incredibly lean, and there is no expectation that AI Annie would replace ECOs.”
What about errors or false negatives?
According to the city, AI Annie monitors conversations and can escalate to a live dispatcher if anything appears potentially urgent.
“All calls, even those handled autonomously, leave an audit trail for oversight,” the release says.
Is caller privacy safe?
Callers’ data is handled under strict policies, says the city, and Aurelian does not mine or share customer data. Information provided from calls handled by AI Annie will be handled the same as calls previously or currently handled by live Emergency Communications Officers.