Washington 911 call center first to use AI in U.S.

A Washington 911 center using an AI system from Seattle-based startup Aurelian is being described in local TV coverage as the first 911 call center in the U.S. to use AI, but similar AI tools have already been deployed in other U.S. 911 centers for non‑emergency calls, so “first” here likely reflects marketing or framing rather than a literal nationwide first.

What the Washington center is doing

• A recent TV segment titled “Washington 911 call center first to use AI in U.S.” refers to a Washington State 911 center using AI to help handle calls.

• In Washington, multiple dispatch centers (including Snohomish, Cowlitz, Grant, Jefferson and the Tri‑Cities SECOMM center serving Benton and Franklin counties) are rolling out Aurelian’s AI to answer non‑emergency lines, capturing caller information and creating reports that human dispatchers then review.

• Axios reports Snohomish County’s Sno911 uses Aurelian’s “Ava” AI today to offload non‑emergency call volume and is adding an “AI copilot” called Cora that listens to live 911 calls and suggests questions and instructions to the dispatcher in real time, while humans remain in control.

Is it really the “first” in the U.S.?

• TechCrunch notes Aurelian launched its AI assistant in May 2024 and has since deployed it at more than a dozen 911 dispatch centers nationwide, including Snohomish County (WA), Chattanooga (TN), and Kalamazoo (MI), which undermines the idea that any single Washington center is the first in the entire U.S. to use AI around 911 operations.

• GovTech reporting on SECOMM in the Tri‑Cities explicitly says the Aurelian system “is already being used in Washington state by dispatch centers in Snohomish, Cowlitz, Grant and Jefferson counties,” again indicating multiple prior deployments even within the state.

• Earlier coverage also highlighted Arlington County, Virginia’s 911/non‑emergency center as “one of the first in the country” to use Amazon AI tech for non‑emergency calls, showing that similar AI use predates the current Washington story.

How these AI systems are being used

• The Washington deployments primarily use AI on non‑emergency lines (noise complaints, parking issues, etc.), where the AI voice assistant gathers details, creates a report, and forwards it to dispatch or the relevant department, and is trained to detect distress or key phrases and immediately route to a live dispatcher.

• In Snohomish County’s upcoming “AI copilot” setup, AI listens along with the dispatcher on 911 calls, surfaces suggested questions and information on screen, but does not replace the human, aiming instead to speed data capture and reduce cognitive load in understaffed centers.