Denver City Council voted 9-3 on Tuesday against a five-year, $3.9 million extension for Citibot, putting the city’s Sunny AI chatbot on track to shut down when its contract ends. Councilmembers who opposed the deal cited inaccurate information from the program and concerns that automated service replaces jobs people should do. The proposal also would have let Denver build a voicebot (an automated system that handles spoken calls) for 311 questions classified as “low complexity.”

Mayor Mike Johnston has supported using Sunny to rebuild residents’ trust in city services. His administration said it would meet with the council in the next few days to seek a way to keep the service active; the contract is paid through the end of October. Spokesman Jon Ewing said Sunny helps residents and lets staff focus on problem-solving, and that losing it would mean losing a tool that has reduced employee burnout, slowed attrition and lowered 311 hold times.

Johnston’s administration said about 40% of the city’s 311 customer-service calls this year came through Sunny and Denver’s online reporting hub. Ewing also cited a 90% customer-service satisfaction rating and said the chatbot handles routine repeated questions, leaving employees to address more complex problems. Councilmember Chris Hinds, one of the three votes in favor, said many constituents in his district, which has the city’s youngest demographic, prefer digital services to phone calls. The other yes votes came from Kevin Flynn and Darrell Watson.

Councilmembers also questioned why the contract, which technically expired October 1, reached them so late. Jenny Schiavone of Denver’s Department of Technology Services said rejection meant the city would not continue the service. At the same Tuesday meeting, the council rejected a separate Slalom Inc. technology contract by 10-2; it would have added $5 million and three years for on-call business intelligence and information and communication technology services. The council approved a separate airport lease with Key Lime Air and subsidiary Denver Air Connection, which operates deportation flights for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, after weeks of delays. Supporters said rejecting that lease would not have ended the flights; Stacie Gilmore was the only no vote.

Denver City Council voted 9-3 on Tuesday against a five-year, $3.9 million extension for Citibot, putting the city’s Sunny AI chatbot on track to shut down when its contract ends. Councilmembers who opposed the deal cited inaccurate information from the program and concerns that automated service replaces jobs people should do. The proposal also would have let Denver build a voicebot (an automated system that handles spoken calls) for 311 questions classified as “low complexity.”

Mayor Mike Johnston has supported using Sunny to rebuild residents’ trust in city services. His administration said it would meet with the council in the next few days to seek a way to keep the service active; the contract is paid through the end of October. Spokesman Jon Ewing said Sunny helps residents and lets staff focus on problem-solving, and that losing it would mean losing a tool that has reduced employee burnout, slowed attrition and lowered 311 hold times.

Johnston’s administration said about 40% of the city’s 311 customer-service calls this year came through Sunny and Denver’s online reporting hub. Ewing also cited a 90% customer-service satisfaction rating and said the chatbot handles routine repeated questions, leaving employees to address more complex problems. Councilmember Chris Hinds, one of the three votes in favor, said many constituents in his district, which has the city’s youngest demographic, prefer digital services to phone calls. The other yes votes came from Kevin Flynn and Darrell Watson.

Councilmembers also questioned why the contract, which technically expired October 1, reached them so late. Jenny Schiavone of Denver’s Department of Technology Services said rejection meant the city would not continue the service. At the same Tuesday meeting, the council rejected a separate Slalom Inc. technology contract by 10-2; it would have added $5 million and three years for on-call business intelligence and information and communication technology services. The council approved a separate airport lease with Key Lime Air and subsidiary Denver Air Connection, which operates deportation flights for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, after weeks of delays. Supporters said rejecting that lease would not have ended the flights; Stacie Gilmore was the only no vote.