Mississippi Launches Amazon Echo Skill with New Site Design

JACKSON, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

The state of Mississippi's award-winning website, ms.gov, has been enhanced, with emphasis on providing quick access to online services and streamlined content. In this recent enhancement is the integration of myMS with Amazon Echo's "Ask Alexa" skill that has made it easier than ever for citizens to interact with the state.

First introduced in 2015, myMS has been updated to include integration with the Amazon Alexa Voice Services. The hands-free "Ask Mississippi" Alexa skill is able to retrieve license expiration information from myMS users and answer Mississippi specific questions. For instance, a myMS subscriber might say "Alexa, ask Mississippi what the phone number is for the Department of Revenue" or "Alexa, ask Mississippi when my driver's license expires?" The voice-controlled "Ask Mississippi" Alexa skill proves perfect for educational purposes as well, "Alexa, ask Mississippi to give me a state fact."

"The myMS ‘Ask Alexa' Integration is the very beginning of an enhanced citizen-to-government relationship that will transform how we receive and send government information" said Dr. Craig Orgeron, Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Information Technology Services. "Digital assistants present an incredible prospect for simplifying business with state government, and we are enthusiastic about expanding Mississippi services through this technology."

Mississippians can load the "Ask Mississippi" skill to their Alexa app on any mobile device.

To learn more, visit ms.gov.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/msdotgov

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/msdotgov

Amazon Skill Store: http://www.alexaskillstore.com/Reference/msgov/220

About Mississippi Interactive

Mississippi Interactive is the official eGovernment solutions provider for the state of Mississippi. The company builds and manages interactive government services, including Mississippi's official website, ms.gov, on behalf of the state. Mississippi Interactive is a wholly owned subsidiary of eGovernment firm NIC EGOV.

The state's official website was redesigned at no cost to the state or citizens utilizing a self-funded model with Mississippi's eGovernment partner, Mississippi Interactive (MSI), a subsidiary of NIC EGOV, and the state of Mississippi. Under the self-funded model, the ms.gov designs and enhancements are developed at no cost to the state or the citizens. For a full listing of all awards won by ms.gov, click here.

About NIC

Founded in 1992, NIC EGOV is the nation's leading provider of innovative digital government solutions and secure payment processing, which help make government more accessible to everyone through technology. The family of NIC companies provides digital government solutions for more than 4,500 federal, state, and local agencies in the United States. Forbes has named NIC as one of the "100 Best Small Companies in America" six times and the company has been included four times on the Barron's 400 Index. Additional information is available at http://www.egov.com.

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