Aurelian’s AI voice assistant triages non-emergency calls so 911 dispatchers can focus on urgent emergencies. Image Source: ChatGPT-5
AI Voice Assistants Enter 911 Call Centers to Ease Staffing Shortages
Key Takeaways: AI in 911 Call Centers
Aurelian, a startup from Y Combinator, raised a $14 million Series A led by NEA to expand its AI voice assistant for 911 centers.
The system triages non-emergency calls such as noise complaints, parking violations, and stolen wallet reports.
Calls flagged as real emergencies are immediately transferred to a human dispatcher for urgent handling.
Since May 2024, the AI assistant has been deployed in more than a dozen U.S. dispatch centers, including Snohomish County (WA), Chattanooga (TN), and Kalamazoo (MI).
Staffing shortages and high turnover make 911 dispatching one of the most pressured industries, driving demand for AI support.
From Hair Salon Scheduling to Emergency Call Support
When Max Keenan entered Y Combinator’s summer 2022 batch, he was building Aurelian, a startup that automated appointment bookings for hair salons. But less than a year later, a frustrated client exposed a much larger problem.
One salon owner, whose parking lot was frequently blocked by a nearby school’s carpool line, tried reporting the issue through the city’s non-emergency line. After waiting on hold for 45 minutes before reaching a dispatcher, she turned to Keenan and asked if his technology could help.
That experience prompted Keenan to research how municipal non-emergency response systems actually work. He learned that these lines are often staffed by the same people answering critical 911 emergency calls, creating long delays for residents and overwhelming dispatchers already stretched thin.
Within a year, Aurelian pivoted from salon scheduling to AI-powered emergency response support, developing a voice assistant that helps dispatch centers handle non-urgent calls and free human staff to focus on true emergencies.
How Aurelian’s AI Voice Assistant Works
The AI system is designed to offload non-urgent call volume, allowing human dispatchers to focus on life-threatening emergencies.
Non-emergency triage: The AI answers calls about noise complaints, parking violations, and lost or stolen items, gathering key information and creating reports.
Emergency transfer: If the AI detects a true emergency, the call is instantly routed to a human dispatcher.
Data relay: In less urgent cases, details are forwarded directly to the appropriate police department for follow-up.
Keenan emphasized that the AI is trained to support, not replace, dispatchers: “The reason why we’re most focused on 911 is because it’s the industry that has this pain point most acutely. We think that these telecommunicators should have a chance of taking a break or go to the bathroom.”
Rapid Deployment Across U.S. Cities
Since launching in May 2024, Aurelian’s AI assistant has been deployed in more than a dozen 911 dispatch centers. Among them are Snohomish County, Washington; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Kalamazoo, Michigan.
The adoption comes as 911 centers nationwide struggle with staffing shortages. Dispatch work is ranked among the top 10 industries for turnover, with reports of 12- to 16-hour shifts as departments struggle to fill roles.
Mustafa Neemuchwala, partner at NEA, described the technology’s role as filling a staffing gap: “You’re not replacing an existing human being; you’re replacing a person they wanted to hire but couldn’t.”
Competition in AI-Powered Emergency Response
Aurelian is not alone in exploring AI for non-emergency calls. Competitors include:
However, according to NEA’s Neemuchwala, Aurelian is the only company currently live and answering thousands of real calls daily. “As far as we know, nobody else is actually live,” he said.
Q&A: AI in 911 Call Centers
Q: What is Aurelian?
A: Aurelian is a Y Combinator-backed startup developing an AI voice assistant to help 911 call centers manage non-emergency calls.
Q: What types of calls does the AI handle?
A: The system manages non-urgent issues like noise complaints, parking violations, and stolen wallets, while routing real emergencies to human staff.
Q: Where has Aurelian been deployed?
A: Since May 2024, the AI has been rolled out in over a dozen U.S. dispatch centers, including Snohomish County, Chattanooga, and Kalamazoo.
Q: Why are 911 centers adopting AI?
A: Chronic staffing shortages and high turnover force dispatchers into long shifts, making AI a tool to reduce pressure and improve response times.
Q: Who funded Aurelian’s growth?
A: Aurelian raised $14 million in a Series A round led by NEA to expand deployment and refine its technology.
What This Means: AI Support in Public Safety
Aurelian’s Series A funding highlights the growing role of AI in public safety infrastructure, where staffing shortages make innovation a necessity. By handling non-emergency calls, AI can free human dispatchers to focus on life-threatening situations, reducing stress and improving response times.
The adoption of AI assistants in 911 call centers also signals a broader shift: local governments increasingly see AI as a practical solution to service delivery gaps. With competitors like Hyper and Prepared entering the field, the race is on to define how AI integrates into emergency response systems.
If successful, this technology could become a standard layer of support in emergency communications, ensuring that human dispatchers are available when they’re needed most.
Editor’s Note: This article was created by Alicia Shapiro, CMO of AiNews.com, with writing, image, and idea-generation support from ChatGPT, an AI assistant. However, the final perspective and editorial choices are solely Alicia Shapiro’s. Special thanks to ChatGPT for assistance with research and editorial support in crafting this article.