Snohomish County 911 Deploys AI Assistants to Manage Call Surge and Support Dispatchers

Summary

Snohomish County 911, which serves approximately 900,000 residents and handles up to 2,000 emergency calls daily, has implemented two AI systems developed by Seattle-based startup Aurelian to manage workflow and support dispatchers. CORA operates silently during emergency calls, helping dispatchers gather vital information and ensure all critical details are collected, while AVA directly answers non-emergency calls—a role that has become increasingly important as the center has experienced a 90% surge in non-emergency calls over the past five years.

Since deploying AVA in late 2024, Snohomish County 911 has processed over 200,000 non-emergency calls through the system, significantly reducing wait times during peak hours. The initiative addresses a critical challenge facing dispatch centers nationwide: a shortage of qualified dispatchers combined with an overwhelming volume of routine calls, from parked cars in fire lanes to requests for assistance with mundane tasks. AVA identifies potential emergencies and flags them for immediate human review, ensuring that human dispatchers can focus on high-stakes emergency response.

According to Snohomish County 911 Executive Director Kurt Mills, the technology is explicitly designed to support human dispatchers rather than replace them. The center emphasizes that all emergency calls are answered by humans—AVA handles only non-emergency lines. Aurelian Co-Founder Max Keenan noted that dispatchers are traditionally overburdened by handling both life-critical emergencies and routine complaints, describing the mismatch as "training them as Navy SEALs and using them as mall cops." The successful deployment in Snohomish County represents an early real-world validation of AI-assisted dispatch in the U.S. emergency services sector.

• Deployment addresses a critical shortage of dispatch center staff nationwide and the burden of handling routine calls alongside life-critical emergencies
• Real-world success in Snohomish County could accelerate AI adoption in emergency dispatch centers across the United States

Editorial Opinion

The deployment of AI assistants in emergency dispatch represents a pragmatic response to a genuine workforce crisis in emergency services. By automating the intake of non-emergency calls, AI frees human dispatchers to focus on high-stakes emergencies where human judgment, empathy, and decision-making are irreplaceable. However, this case also underscores broader questions about AI in critical government infrastructure: what happens when systems fail, and how do we ensure robust human oversight as these technologies scale? Snohomish County's measured approach—keeping humans in control of emergency calls while using AI for routine intake—offers a responsible template for other jurisdictions.