Ordinal is a government technology startup that provides an AI-powered research assistant for local municipalities. The platform addresses inefficient information retrieval by creating a centralized, secure system for city employees to find answers within their own verified internal documents. This aims to modernize operations for a sector that often lags in technology adoption.
An AI-powered platform designed for local governments that serves as a centralized knowledge base. It ingests a municipality's specific, verified documents—such as codes, ordinances, meeting minutes, and GIS files—to provide fast and accurate answers for internal staff use. The platform also has a component that can power public-facing chatbots on city websites.
It solves the problem of inefficient information retrieval, which can consume about a third of a government employee's work week. The platform reduces time spent searching for information, helps onboard new staff, and ensures continuity of knowledge despite personnel changes.
Customers face challenges with decentralized and hard-to-search information, significant time lost trying to locate documents, reliance on the institutional memory of long-term employees, and difficulty in providing timely answers to public inquiries.