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City program · Office of Engagement and Innovation · compiled Oct 30, 2026

Emma

Emma is an AI "digital human" on the City of Amarillo website that answers questions by text or speech in English and Spanish, using information provided and controlled by the City. The City Council awarded Dell Technologies up to $582,948.89 in August 2023 to develop it, then renewed Dell's hosted digital-human agreement for $553,052.00 in December 2024 and $252,489.97 in September 2025, for a combined $1,388,490.86 approved. UneeQ says it created Emma's digital human, Pryon says it powers Emma, and Dell's case study credits Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA; the City's awards all go to Dell. City accounts give the public launch as October 1, 2024 or December 2024. On October 13, 2026 the council took no action on a $49,500 ARPA-funded renewal of the UneeQ subscription, and staff said they would return at the next meeting or in November with options, including a locally hosted alternative.

Approved by council →: $1,388,491; three awards to Dell, 2023–2025
Pending renewal →: $49,500; pulled from consent Oct 13, 2026
First usage report →: 16,400+; questions in about 3 months · City
Latest usage report →: ~84,000; sessions, Jul–Sep 2026 · staff

How to read this page

Every row says what kind of statement it is. Where sources give different figures, each is listed with its source under “Figures by source”; some disagree, some cover a different phase or date. Numbers link to the source list at the bottom.

Fact: Recorded in a document: a vote, a payment, a filing, a measurement.
Commitment: What a party has agreed to in a signed agreement or approved item.
Plan: What a party says it intends to build or do; it may change.
Projection: An estimate of a future effect by a named agency, consultant or plan.
Estimate: A cost or size figure given by a named party, with its date and basis where stated.
Company statement: What a company says about itself or its project, not independently checked.

What it is

What it isAI digital human on amarillo.gov: The City's About Emma page says Emma answers questions by text or speech, uses a language model, does not search the internet, bases responses on information "provided and controlled by the City of Amarillo," does not independently learn from conversations, and "may occasionally be incomplete or incorrect." The 2023 award describes "a Digital Human and all associated Artificial Intelligence and Knowledge fabric to support website, digital literacy, and 311 functions." ^1,2As of Dec 5, 2024
Data it uses: In November 2023 the City's Assistant City Manager, Rich Gagnon, said, "We're not putting anything in our digital human that isn't publicly available," and that it was not connected to internal systems or customer information. The City's March 2025 release said Emma could direct residents to departments but could not tell them the amount of their water bills. ^3,4Company statementBy Rich Gagnon, Assistant City Manager (NewsChannel 10, November 2023); City of Amarillo (news release, March 13, 2025), Mar 13, 2025
Channelsamarillo.gov; text or speech: Emma runs on the City website, amarillo.gov, and answers by text or speech, with a separate "Habla con Emma" Spanish experience. ¹As of Dec 5, 2024
Languages: Accounts of how many languages Emma speaks differ over time and by source.^1,4,5
Figures by source
96 languages by 2024 · Plan reported by NewsChannel 10, November 2023³
more than 60 · May 2024 expectation for when fully operational (Route Fifty; Region 16 interview)^6,7
up to 46 · Figure given to Texas Standard, June 2024; rollout began in English⁸
around 100 · UneeQ case study (vendor marketing)⁹
English and Spanish · City release (March 2025), Government Technology (October 2025, with five more 'coming online soon') and the City's About Emma page^4,5,1
As of Oct 29, 2025
Resident testing: In May 2024 Emma was in a multistage test environment with resident testers. On November 15, 2024 NewsChannel 10 reported the City was seeking about 21 testers; the Amarillo Tribune later reported more than 100 residents had volunteered. ^6,10,11As of Jan 27, 2025
Public launch: City sources give different dates for Emma's public launch.^1,4,5
Figures by source
October 1, 2024 · The City's About Emma timeline: 'October 1, 2024 – Public Launch'¹
December 2024 · City news release, March 13, 2025 ('her debut last December'); Government Technology, October 2025 ('deployed in December 2024')^4,5
As of Oct 29, 2025NewsChannel 10 reported on November 15, 2024 that the City was still recruiting testers to help ensure the tool was ready (src-kfda-emma-testers-2024).
Versionsv1.5 Aug 12, 2025; v2.0 Jul 1, 2026: Emma was at version 1.0 in June 2024 (Texas Standard). The City's timeline lists version 1.5 on August 12, 2025 ("a more natural conversational style" and improved guidance to the correct City web pages) and version 2.0 on July 1, 2026 (conversational context for follow-up questions, improved image quality, a City Hall background, a Stop Speaking button, linked email addresses and mobile changes). ^8,1As of Jul 1, 2026
Where it runs: The December 2024 and September 2025 renewal memos describe a "Licenses extension for hosted digital human as the COA team builds an on-site replacement." Dell's case study credits Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA. No City document located says where the hosted service runs. ^12,13,14As of Sep 9, 2025

Who built it

Dell: Every City award for Emma located goes to Dell. Route Fifty reported that "at first, Amarillo leaned heavily on Dell Technologies' professional AI expertise to build the large language model" and that the City's IT team gradually "absorbed more of the work." Dell's case study credits Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA and Dell Professional Services. ^2,15,16,6,14As of Sep 1, 2025
UneeQ: UneeQ's case study says it created Emma as a custom digital human. The only City item located that names UneeQ is the October 2026 renewal of a "UneeQ Bridge Subscription for the website Digital Human, EMMA," bought from Dell. ^9,17Company statementBy UneeQ (case study); City of Amarillo (October 13, 2026 agenda packet), Oct 9, 2026
Pryon: Pryon's state and local government page says "Pryon powers a multilingual digital assistant, Emma, for the City of Amarillo, Texas," and its webinar recorded December 10, 2023 with the City's CIO describes "the city's Pryon-powered digital human." In 2024 the CIO named Pryon as the partner supplying Emma's "knowledge fabric," a term Pryon's September 2023 funding announcement uses for its platform. No City agenda item from June 2023 through October 2026 names Pryon. ^18,19,8,20,2Company statementBy Pryon; Rich Gagnon, CIO (as reported by Texas Standard), Jun 17, 2024The last sentence rests on a text search of the City Council agendas posted on CivicClerk for that period.
Terms between vendors: The August 2023 agenda item, memo and quote form name only Dell, and do not say which company would supply the avatar, the language model or the "knowledge fabric." No City document located describes the terms between Dell and UneeQ or Pryon, or how the City's payments are divided among them. ^2,21,17As of Oct 25, 2026
UneeQ ownership: New Zealand's Companies Office lists UNEEQ LIMITED (company 3130545), incorporated September 22, 2010 as FaceMe Australia Limited and renamed UneeQ Limited in August 2019, with "Ultimate holding company: No." Of 2,762,070 shares in 62 listed parcels, the largest is held by founder and CEO Danny Tomsett (17.52%); listed corporate holders include Dempsey Capital Pty Ltd (9.93%) and Veritone, Inc. (8.37%). No Dell entity appears among the listed shareholders. ²²As of Sep 27, 2026The register says the largest share parcels have been entered and the company's own share register is the complete record. as_of is the date of the annual return.
Dell subsidiaries: Dell's subsidiary list filed with its fiscal 2026 annual report does not include UneeQ or Pryon. The report says Dell held $1.6 billion in strategic investments in non-marketable securities, made in part through Dell Technologies Capital, without listing the companies, so it neither shows nor rules out a minority stake. Pryon's September 2023 Series B announcement does not name Dell among its investors. No record was located of Dell acquiring UneeQ or Pryon. ^23,20,22As of Mar 16, 2026
Dell's other City business: Emma is one of many Dell contracts. Council minutes from April 2022 to October 2025 record Dell purchases and five-year leases for the City's network hardware and firewalls, VMware licenses, desktop computers, police tablets and cybersecurity, most under the same state contract (DIR-TSO-3763). The Dell organization page lists each award and the check-register payments that match it. ^24,25,26,27As of Oct 14, 2025

Who is involved

City of Amarillo (Office of Engagement and Innovation; Information Technology)
Buyer and operator. The Office of Engagement and Innovation sponsored the 2023 award; the Director of Information Technology is the contact on the October 2026 renewal; the Office of Engagement and Innovation's director presented it. ^21,17,32
Dell Technologies
Prime contractor and reseller: every City award goes to Dell (Dell Marketing LP under DIR-TSO-3763 in 2023); integrator credited with Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA and Dell Professional Services; markets a digital-assistant offering citing Amarillo. ^2,33,14,47
UneeQ
Says it created Emma's digital human; its "Bridge Subscription" is the October 2026 renewal, bought through Dell.^9,17,22
Pryon
Says it powers Emma; named by the CIO as the supplier of the "knowledge fabric." Not named in any City agenda item located.^18,19,8
NVIDIA
Named only in Dell's credits ("Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA"; "a full-stack Dell and NVIDIA solution"); not named in any City document located.^14,43
Texas Department of Information Resources
Holds cooperative contract DIR-TSO-3763 with Dell Marketing LP, cited for the 2023 award; expired April 9, 2025.^33,2

Dell Technologies profile →

How it was bought

Cooperative contractDIR-TSO-3763 (expired April 9, 2025): The 2023 award was made under Texas DIR contract DIR-TSO-3763, a cooperative contract with Dell Marketing LP for Dell-branded technology products and services to Texas public entities. It began January 10, 2018; DIR expired it effective April 9, 2025, and its page marks it inactive. ^2,33endedAs of Apr 9, 2025
Quotes received: The City's quote form for the 2023 purchase lists a single vendor, Dell (quote 3000157445642.1), with the other two vendor columns blank. The memo's community engagement summary reads "N/A." The CIO told Route Fifty, "We actually talked to several vendors, but Dell came to play." ^21,6As of May 24, 2024
Renewal basis: The December 2024 and September 2025 renewal memos give "Purchasing Summary: N/A" and cite no cooperative contract; the December 2024 memo lists "Attachments: None." The October 2026 memo reads "Dell is the sole proprietor of this solution." None of the three renewal memos describes deliverables beyond license or subscription renewal. DIR-TSO-3763 expired before the September 2025 and October 2026 items. ^12,13,17,33As of Oct 9, 2026

Money

2023 award$582,948.89: On August 1, 2023 (consent item 8.O, considered separately at Councilmember Josh Craft's request) the council voted 5-0 to award Dell Technologies a contract not to exceed $582,948.89 for "the development of a Digital Human and all associated Artificial Intelligence and Knowledge fabric to support website, digital literacy, and 311 functions." ^2,21,34approvedAs of Aug 1, 2023
What the 2023 award bought: The quote form for requisition 49990 ("Digital Human Project," July 26, 2023) lists ten "CUSTOM CONSULT MODERN WORKFORCE USER EXPERIENCE SOLUTIONS" lines totaling $357,948.89 and "Professional Services Consulting Credit" lines totaling $225,000 (four $50,000 credits and one $25,000 credit), each marked "Expires after 1 Year." The memo funds it from project accounts 620075.17400.1040 ($299,999.76) and 620076.17400.1040 ($282,949.13) and does not name a funding program. ²¹As of Jul 26, 2023The consult-line subtotal is our sum of the ten line extensions as printed.
2024 renewal$553,052.00: On December 10, 2024 (non-consent item 9.B) the council voted 5-0 to award Dell $553,052.00 for an annual renewal of the digital human agreement, described as a "Licenses extension for hosted digital human as the COA team builds an on-site replacement." Funding source: "General fund revenues" (account 620076.17400.1040). ^15,12,35approvedAs of Dec 10, 2024
2025 renewal$252,489.97: On September 9, 2025 (consent item 7.U) the council voted 4-0, with Councilmember David Prescott absent, to award Dell $252,489.97 for the annual renewal of the digital human agreement, with the same "Licenses extension" summary. Funding source: "American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Broadband/Digital inclusion federal funding." ^16,13,36approvedAs of Sep 9, 2025
Total approved$1,388,490.86: The three council approvals for Emma located before October 2026 total $1,388,490.86 ($582,948.89 in August 2023, $553,052.00 in December 2024 and $252,489.97 in September 2025). This is the sum of amounts approved, not of amounts paid. ^2,15,16As of Sep 9, 2025our arithmetic: sum of the three awards
Pending 2026 renewal$49,500.00: Consent item 6.7 for October 13, 2026 was a $49,500.00 one-year renewal of the "Dell UneeQ PCR6a Bridge Software Subscription," extending Emma's subscription to August 15, 2027, funded by ARPA grant funds (CIP PRJ-620075, "Broadband Project"). The council pulled it from consent and took no action. ^37,17,29pendingAs of Oct 13, 2026
Negotiated price: The staff member presenting item 6.7 said the vendor initially sought "close to 300,000" and that the IT department negotiated it to under $50,000, made possible in part by remaining ARPA broadband dollars usable through the calendar year. ²⁹Company statementBy City staff member presenting item 6.7, October 13, 2026 council meeting, Oct 13, 2026From unedited auto-captions; no written quote or contract amount for the higher price was located.
ARPA deadline: Staff said the ARPA money must be spent by December, would "most likely" have to fall into the broadband/IT category, and would most likely go back to the federal government if unspent; a council question about moving it to the Civic Center was answered that it would not qualify. ^29,32Company statementBy City staff and council members, October 13, 2026 council meeting, Oct 13, 2026
Fund source: The December 2024 and September 2025 renewal memos give the same funding-summary account, 620076.17400.1040, but label the source "General fund revenues" (December 2024) and "American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Broadband/Digital inclusion federal funding" (September 2025). The 2023 award was funded from accounts 620075 and 620076; the October 2026 item cites ARPA project PRJ-620075. The documents do not explain the difference. ^21,12,13,17
Figures by source
Not named · August 2023 award memo (accounts 620075 and 620076)²¹
General fund revenues · December 2024 renewal^15,12
ARPA Broadband/Digital inclusion · September 2025 renewal^16,13
ARPA grant funds (PRJ-620075) · October 2026 pending renewal¹⁷
As of Oct 9, 2026
Fund that paidInformation Technology Fund: The City's pool-fund account registers record the payments to Dell Marketing that match both renewals as charged to the Information Technology Fund (FD6200): $553,052.00 on March 10, 2025, in two lines of $305,293.00 and $247,759.00, for the December 2024 renewal whose memo says "General fund revenues," and $252,489.97 on November 6, 2025 for the September 2025 renewal whose memo says ARPA. Neither payment is recorded in the General Fund (FD1000) or in an ARPA grant fund. The registers do not show whether ARPA or General Fund money was moved into the Information Technology Fund for these payments; the memos' account, 620076, is a project account in that fund. The registers begin in January 2025, so they do not cover payments on the 2023 award. ^38,39,12,13As of Dec 31, 2025The match is by payee, amount and date to the two council awards; the registers do not name the project.
Related Dell purchase$173,956.72 (Oct 8, 2024): On October 8, 2024 the council approved a $173,956.72 purchase from Dell (DIR-TSO-3763), funded by the Information Technology fund, of "cloud professional services to construct the City's new website infrastructure." Dell's Emma case study says the City "worked closely with Dell Technologies to rebuild their website and data infrastructure" after early tests "revealed significant limitations." The council item does not mention Emma. ^40,14As of Oct 8, 2024Not included in the $1,388,490.86 of digital-human awards.
Payments to Dell: The City check register lists payments to DELL MARKETING, L.P. totaling $3,922,290.21 across 116 payments from July 5, 2022 to July 30, 2026, and to a separate payee, DELL FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC, totaling $6,329,898.27 across 20 payments from October 13, 2022 to June 11, 2026. The register does not tie payments to projects, so the share, if any, for Emma cannot be identified from it. ⁴¹As of Jul 30, 2026
Outside cost estimate: The Chief Technology Officer of Region 16 Education Service Center told the Texas State Library and Archives Commission of Emma that "the cost is about half a million a year," that an education model would cost about $175,000, and that the City owns the digital human model. ⁷EstimateBy Chief Technology Officer, Region 16 Education Service Center (Texas State Library blog, November 2024), Nov 19, 2024An outside partner's estimate, not a City figure.

Results and usage

First usage figure16,400+ questions in about 3 months: The City's March 13, 2025 release said Emma, about three months after her December debut, had been asked more than 16,400 questions, most often about PayAMA (the Utility Billing online payment portal) and trash pickup. ⁴Company statementBy City of Amarillo (news release, March 13, 2025), Mar 13, 2025
Dell's figures: Dell's case study says Emma "handles 280 citizen inquiries daily, maintaining a 98% approval rating," answered 16,800 queries within eight weeks of going live, and has "projected savings of $1.8 million annually" in staff costs. It does not show how the figures were calculated. ¹⁴Company statementBy Dell Technologies (City of Amarillo case study, September 2025), Sep 1, 2025
UneeQ's figures: UneeQ's case study cites "a projected saving of $1.8 million in her first year" and a 98% satisfaction score, without showing how they were calculated. ⁹Company statementBy UneeQ (case study, undated)
CIO's figures: Government Technology reported, attributing the figures to CIO Rich Gagnon, that of about 32,000 questions a month taken by City call center agents Emma was answering 16,000; that the City had delayed "a $1.8 million investment in hiring new call center agents"; and that Emma had "effectively saved the city more than $1 million since its launch." The article does not show how the figures were calculated. ⁵Company statementBy Rich Gagnon, CIO and Assistant City Manager (as reported by Government Technology, October 29, 2025), Oct 29, 2025
Latest usage figureabout 84,000 sessions in 3 months: At the October 13, 2026 council meeting staff reported that from July 1 to the end of September 2026 the City website had roughly 560,000 visitors, about one in seven of whom used Emma, or about 84,000 sessions, cautioning that sessions are not the same as individual people. Staff said that in the last month there were about 3,600 questions specific to utility billing and water bills. ²⁹Company statementBy City staff member presenting item 6.7, October 13, 2026 council meeting, Oct 13, 2026Sessions, not questions: the City has not published a question count for this period. Figures heard in unedited auto-captions; not published in writing.
Staff assessment: The presenting staff member said "when we first launched Emma she was very bad," that improvements since included retaining context, that gaps in answers reflect content missing from department web pages, that "maybe some of her abilities were overstated," and that a back-end function that had been an extra expense had been taken in house. Staff said a dashboard to gauge sentiment was being built. ²⁹Company statementBy City staff member presenting item 6.7, October 13, 2026 council meeting, Oct 13, 2026From unedited auto-captions.
Website rebuild: Dell's case study says "early implementation tests of integrating AI with Amarillo's existing website infrastructure revealed significant limitations," that "the city worked closely with Dell Technologies to rebuild their website and data infrastructure," and that the website now generates reports so department directors "address any missing information within 48 hours." ¹⁴Company statementBy Dell Technologies (City of Amarillo case study, September 2025), Sep 1, 2025On October 8, 2024 the council approved $173,956.72 for Dell "cloud professional services to construct the City's new website infrastructure" (see Related Dell purchase). No City document located links that purchase to Emma or describes the 48-hour process.
Cost comparisons: The CIO told Route Fifty in 2024 that Emma's cost "is significantly less" than adding staff to do equivalent work, giving no figure. A 2025 Dell blog post attributes to him the statement that hiring staff to provide this level of service "would have run into millions of dollars per year." ^6,42Company statementBy Rich Gagnon, CIO (as reported by Route Fifty, May 2024; paraphrased by Dell's blog, August 2025), Aug 15, 2025
Independent review: No independent evaluation or audit of Emma's accuracy, usage or savings was located, and the City has not published a cost per interaction. The savings and satisfaction figures come from the City's CIO and from vendor case studies. ^5,14,9,21As of Oct 25, 2026

Our calculation

License cost per question, from the City's own figures

Each annual renewal divided evenly by month, set against the usage the City reported for the same three months.

Dec 2024 – Mar 2025: three months of the $553,052 annual renewal	$138,263
Questions asked in that period (City release)	16,400+
License cost per question	about $8.43
Jul – Sep 2026: three months of the $252,489.97 annual renewal	$63,122
Sessions in that period (staff, at council)	about 84,000
License cost per session	about $0.75

Our arithmetic on City figures. It spreads each annual renewal evenly over 12 months, which the City has not said is how it is billed; it leaves out the 2023 development award and staff time; the 2026 figure counts sessions, not questions, and was heard at a meeting, not published; and the 2024 renewal's exact term dates are not stated in the records we read. From: 2024 renewal, First usage figure, 2025 renewal, Latest usage figure.

Was Amarillo the first customer?

Dates: The City's award to Dell (August 1, 2023) came about nine and a half months before Dell announced its "Dell Generative AI Solution for Digital Assistants" and implementation services, "available now in North America" (May 20, 2024). The May 2024 release does not mention Amarillo or UneeQ. ^2,43As of May 20, 2024
Clara demo: UneeQ's July 5, 2023 press release says Dell Technologies "last month showcased a digital human named Clara, developed by UneeQ, at Dell Technologies World in Las Vegas." That is the earliest Dell-UneeQ work located, about three months before the City's award. ^44,2Company statementBy UneeQ (press release, July 5, 2023), Jul 5, 2023
Dell's wording: Dell's May 20, 2024 blog post introducing the offering says "the City of Amarillo is already embracing this technology to make community services more accessible." Dell's July 26, 2024 post on the validated design says the City's CIO "joined us on stage at Dell Technologies World to discuss their implementation of a digital assistant named Emma." He also gave Route Fifty an interview at Dell Technologies World 2024. Neither Dell post calls Amarillo Dell's first customer for the offering. ^45,46,6Company statementBy Dell Technologies (blog, May 20 and July 26, 2024), Jul 26, 2024
Dell Japan: Dell Technologies Japan's February 12, 2026 release launching the "Dell Digital Assistant Solution with UneeQ" says a digital assistant with a Western avatar "has already been introduced" in Amarillo, Texas, helping with rapid disaster notices to immigrants who do not speak English. It says the solution runs in the cloud or on premises on Dell AI Factory and is priced by individual quotation. ⁴⁷Company statementBy Dell Technologies Japan (release via PR TIMES, February 12, 2026), Feb 12, 2026Our translation from Japanese.
Who said first: Descriptions of Amarillo as early or first come from news outlets and vendor materials, worded differently. No City, Dell, UneeQ or Pryon document located describes Amarillo as a test, pilot or launch customer, or states the terms Dell offered the City relative to other customers. ^{3,6,9,45,14,18}
Figures by source
a first for a local government · NewsChannel 10, November 2023³
among the first cities to implement a chatbot underpinned by generative AI · Route Fifty, May 2024⁶
City of Amarillo's first digital human · UneeQ case study (first for the City, not for UneeQ)⁹
the city's first digital human/employee · City release on the CIO's resignation, July 2, 2026²⁸
As of Oct 25, 2026

What's next

CIO departure: The City announced on July 2, 2026 the resignation of Assistant City Manager and Chief Technology Officer Rich Gagnon, effective July 22, crediting him with leading the creation of Emma. The release does not say who would manage Emma. ²⁸As of Jul 2, 2026
Next council actionExpected November 2026: On October 13, 2026 the council agreed to take no action on item 6.7, and staff agreed to return at the next meeting or in November with options for the $49,500 in ARPA funds. As of October 25, 2026 no later action was located; the October 27, 2026 agenda and packet do not include it. ^29,30,31PlanpendingBy City staff and council, October 13, 2026 council meeting, Oct 25, 2026
In-house alternative: Staff said the goal was a locally hosted version, possibly Emma or "a standard chatbot" with a similar language model, chosen after public engagement, at no cost beyond staff time; that the team had piloted it; and that without the renewal "we lose the technology on the website" until an alternative is ready. The Amarillo Tribune reported the council asked staff to see whether the ARPA funds could be used to bring Emma in-house. ^29,32PlanBy City staff member presenting item 6.7 (October 13, 2026 meeting); Amarillo Tribune, Oct 14, 2026

Not public, or not found

What we looked for and could not find in a public record, as of Oct 30, 2026.

A City payment or subscription line for Pryon. Checked: City Council agendas on CivicClerk, June 2023 through October 2026 (text search for Pryon); the 2023 quote form and the 2024, 2025 and 2026 renewal memos. None names Pryon.
How the City's payments to Dell are divided among Dell, UneeQ, Pryon and NVIDIA. Checked: 2023 agenda, memo and quote form; 2024, 2025 and 2026 renewal memos and bid tab; vendor case studies.
Which Dell payments in the check register were for Emma. Checked: Check register payees DELL MARKETING, L.P. and DELL FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC; the register does not tie payments to projects.
UneeQ's investors and funding rounds from primary sources. Checked: New Zealand Companies Office record (shareholder parcels only, no funding history); Dell's FY2026 10-K and subsidiary list. No primary record of UneeQ funding rounds was located.
Whether Dell holds a minority stake in UneeQ or Pryon. Checked: Dell FY2026 10-K and Exhibit 21.1 ($1.6 billion in unlisted non-marketable strategic investments); UneeQ's NZ share register (no Dell entity listed); Pryon's Series B announcement (Dell not named).
An independent evaluation of Emma's accuracy, usage or savings, or a published cost per interaction. Checked: City releases and About Emma page; council agendas and packets; Government Technology; Dell and UneeQ case studies.
How the savings, satisfaction and usage figures were calculated. Checked: Government Technology (October 2025); Dell case study; UneeQ case study. None shows a method.
A written record of the vendor's initial "close to 300,000" price and of the October 13, 2026 usage figures. Checked: October 13, 2026 agenda packet and bid tab (one $49,500 line). The figures were heard only in meeting auto-captions.
Official minutes of the October 13, 2026 meeting. Checked: CivicClerk, not posted as of 2026-10-14.
The outcome of the $49,500 renewal and staff's options (expected November 2026). Checked: October 27, 2026 agenda and 159-page packet; no Emma, Dell, UneeQ or ARPA item.
Why the renewals' funding source labels differ for the same account. Checked: December 2024, September 2025 and October 2026 memos; none explains it.
Where the hosted service runs (cloud, Dell, UneeQ or on premises) and the status of the "on-site replacement". Checked: 2024 and 2025 renewal memos; About Emma page; Dell case study.

The record

Dated, sourced events from the storylines on this site.

Emma, the City of Amarillo's website digital human (2023-2026)20 events

Scheduled

Nov 2026Staff to return to council with options for Emma and the $49,500 in ARPA funds

Most recent

Sources (47)

Numbered sources

1.About Emma — City of Amarillo, Dec 5, 2024 · retrieved Oct 14, 2026primarySubject-authored'published' is the page's first-publication timestamp in its metadata; the page was last modified 2026-08-25 and includes a 'Development Timeline' (public launch, Emma 1.5, Emma 2.0).
2.Amarillo City Council regular meeting agenda, August 1, 2023 — City of Amarillo (CivicClerk), Aug 1, 2023 · retrieved Oct 14, 2026primarySubject-authoredConsent item 8.O "Consider Award - Digital Human Contract"; date is the meeting date.
3.City of Amarillo using digital human AI to communicate with community — NewsChannel 10 (KFDA), Nov 1, 2023 · retrieved Oct 14, 2026newsIndependentStance: neutral
4.No Question About It for Emma — City of Amarillo, Mar 13, 2025 · retrieved Oct 14, 2026primarySubject-authored
5.As AI Assistant Evolves, Officials Hope It Furthers Trust — Government Technology, Oct 29, 2025 · retrieved Oct 14, 2026newsIndependentBy Julia Edinger. Figures are attributed to the City's CIO; includes a quote from UneeQ's CTO.
6.Meet Emma, Amarillo's AI assistant and 'digital human' — Route Fifty, May 24, 2024 · retrieved Oct 14, 2026newsIndependentBased on an interview with the City's CIO at the Dell Technologies World conference in Las Vegas; includes a quote from a Dell Technologies portfolio lead.
7.Region 16 Has Big Plans for Digital Human "Emma" — Texas State Library and Archives Commission (Library Developments blog), Nov 19, 2024 · retrieved Oct 14, 2026newsIndependentInterview with the Chief Technology Officer of Region 16 Education Service Center, a prospective partner on an education version of Emma.
8.Amarillo builds AI chatbot to serve its multilingual population — Texas Standard, Jun 17, 2024 · retrieved Oct 14, 2026newsIndependentRadio interview with the City's assistant city manager; direct requests returned HTTP 429, the page was read through a fetch tool.
9.UneeQ Case Study: City of Amarillo uses AI human Emma to help its residents — UneeQ (digitalhumans.com) · retrieved Oct 14, 2026newsVendorStance: favorableUndated web page.
10.City of Amarillo asking for residents to help test digital assistant — NewsChannel 10 (KFDA), Nov 15, 2024 · retrieved Oct 14, 2026newsIndependentStance: neutral
11.Digital dignity, rights and privacy — Amarillo Tribune, Jan 27, 2025 · retrieved Oct 14, 2026newsIndependentStance: neutralBy Jo Early. Covers Emma, smart meters and surveillance items before the council.
12.Amarillo City Council regular meeting agenda packet, December 10, 2024 — City of Amarillo, Dec 10, 2024 · retrieved Oct 12, 2026primarySubject-authoredDate is the meeting date. Item 8.YY transmittal memo (packet p. 431).
13.Amarillo City Council regular meeting agenda packet, September 9, 2025 — City of Amarillo (CivicClerk), Sep 9, 2025 · retrieved Oct 14, 2026primarySubject-authored323-page packet; item 7.U transmittal memo ends on page 113. Date is the meeting date.
14.Delivering accessibility through GenAI (City of Amarillo case study) — Dell Technologies, Sep 1, 2025 · retrieved Oct 14, 2026newsVendorStance: favorableThe PDF says its information is accurate "as of its publication date, September 2025"; day not stated.
15.City Council regular meeting agenda, December 10, 2024 — City of Amarillo, Dec 10, 2024 · retrieved Oct 10, 2026primarySubject-authoredConsent item 8.QQ; date is the meeting date.
16.Amarillo City Council regular meeting agenda, September 9, 2025 — City of Amarillo (CivicClerk), Sep 9, 2025 · retrieved Oct 14, 2026primarySubject-authoredConsent item 7.U "Consider Award - Annual Renewal of Digital Human Agreement"; date is the meeting date.
17.City Council Regular Meeting agenda packet, October 13, 2026 — City of Amarillo, Oct 9, 2026 · retrieved Oct 10, 2026primarySubject-authored157-page packet; item 6.7 transmittal memo (pages 56-57) gives the funding summary 'Broadband Project - Professional Services - PRJ-620075.17400.62000'. 'published' approximated as for the agenda.
18.Pryon for State and Local Government — Pryon · retrieved Oct 25, 2026newsVendorStance: favorableUndated product page.
19.AI Citizen Engagement Webinar: Pryon and the City of Amarillo — Pryon, Dec 10, 2023 · retrieved Oct 25, 2026newsVendorStance: favorable'published' is the page's 'Date Recorded 12.10.23'. Featured speakers listed as Pryon's President and CEO and the City's CIO. The video itself was not reviewed.
20.Pryon Closes $100 Million Series B Round Led by Thomas Tull's US Innovative Technology Fund — Pryon (Business Wire release, reposted by Duke Capital Partners), Sep 19, 2023 · retrieved Oct 25, 2026newsSubject-authoredBusiness Wire's own page returned HTTP 403; this is the text as reposted by an investor, Duke Capital Partners. Date is from the Business Wire URL.
21.Amarillo City Council regular meeting agenda packet, August 1, 2023 — City of Amarillo (CivicClerk), Aug 1, 2023 · retrieved Oct 14, 2026primarySubject-authored101-page packet; item 8.O transmittal memo is on page 79 (department Office of Engagement and Innovation; funding summary lists two project accounts). Date is the meeting date.
22.UNEEQ LIMITED (3130545) — company record, directors and shareholdings — New Zealand Companies Office · retrieved Oct 25, 2026primaryIndependentRegister pages 'detail', 'directors' and 'shareholdings' for company 3130545; last annual return filed September 27, 2026. The register says the company has extensive shareholdings and the largest parcels have been entered (62 listed).
23.Dell Technologies Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 30, 2026, with Exhibit 21.1 (subsidiary list) — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR), Mar 16, 2026 · retrieved Oct 25, 2026primarySubject-authoredExhibit 21.1 is at https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1571996/000157199626000008/exhibit211fy2610-k.htm. An EDGAR full-text search on 2026-10-25 found no Dell filing containing "UneeQ" or "Pryon".
24.Amarillo City Council Regular Meeting Minutes, 2022-08-16 — City of Amarillo, Aug 16, 2022 · retrieved Oct 14, 2026primarySubject-authoredScanned minutes (OCR). Item 3E: "ORDINANCE NO. 8003 AN ORDINANCE authorizing the issuance of “CITY OF AMARILLO, TEXAS, TAX NOTES, SERIES 2022B”" ... "voting NO was Councilmember Stanley; absent were none; the motion passed by a 4-1 vote."
25.Amarillo City Council Minutes, October 11, 2022 Regular Meeting — City of Amarillo, Mar 17, 2023 · retrieved Oct 10, 2026primarySubject-authoredScanned PDF (no text layer); votes read from the page images.
26.City Council Regular Meeting minutes, March 26, 2024 — City of Amarillo, Apr 9, 2024 · retrieved Oct 14, 2026primarySubject-authoredScanned signed minutes; Ordinance No. 8123 adopted 5-0 (motion Tipps, second Craft).
27.Amarillo City Council Regular Meeting Minutes, 2025-04-22 — City of Amarillo, Apr 22, 2025 · retrieved Oct 14, 2026primarySubject-authoredStates: "Motion to appoint Dean Crump to a term ending December 31, 2027 by Don Tipps, second by Josh Craft; Motion passed with a 3:1 vote. AYES: Josh Craft, Don Tipps, Tom Scherlen NOES: Les Simpson ABSTAIN: Cole Stanley". Item 10.D (revised AEDC policies and procedures) passed 5:0.
28.COA Assistant City Manager/Chief Technology Officer Gagnon Resigns — City of Amarillo, Jul 2, 2026 · retrieved Oct 10, 2026primarySubject-authoredStates: "Gagnon has held several management positions with the city since 2016, including director of information technology, managing director and chief information officer."
29.Amarillo City Council Regular Meeting 10/13/26 (video) — City of Amarillo (YouTube, CityofAmarillo), Oct 13, 2026 · retrieved Oct 14, 2026primarySubject-authoredRead from YouTube's unedited auto-captions (timestamps in research/transcripts/2026-10-13-council-regular.txt); names and figures checked against the agenda where possible. Voice votes are recorded without tallies.
30.City Council Regular Meeting agenda, October 27, 2026 — City of Amarillo, Oct 21, 2026 · retrieved Oct 22, 2026primarySubject-authoredAgenda PDF from the City's CivicClerk portal; 'published' is the PDF's last-modified date (October 21, 2026), since the posting date is not shown. Meeting convenes at 2:00 p.m.
31.City Council Regular Meeting agenda packet, October 27, 2026 — City of Amarillo, Oct 21, 2026 · retrieved Oct 22, 2026primarySubject-authored159-page packet; 'published' is the PDF's creation date (October 21, 2026). The discussion items (billing review, rate discussion, forensic audit update) have no backup material in the packet. Pages 124-128 (the Strategic Government Resources interim city manager agreement) are scanned images.
32.Amarillo City Council talks pet microchipping, forensic audit, and more at Oct. 13, 2026, meeting — Amarillo Tribune, Oct 14, 2026 · retrieved Oct 16, 2026newsIndependentByline Jo Early. Reports the forensic-audit scope (CIP, ARPA funds, and the water and sewer enterprise fund) and that the council expects to be able to act on engaging one or two firms on October 27, 2026.
33.DIR-TSO-3763 (Dell Marketing LP) contract page — Texas Department of Information Resources · retrieved Oct 25, 2026primaryIndependentDirect requests returned HTTP 429; the page was read through a fetch tool. The page marks the contract inactive.
34.Amarillo City Council minutes, regular meeting of August 1, 2023 — City of Amarillo (CivicClerk), Aug 1, 2023 · retrieved Oct 14, 2026primarySubject-authoredScanned (image-only) signed minutes; item 8.O pulled from consent and approved 5-0. Date is the meeting date.
35.City Council minutes, regular meeting of December 10, 2024 — City of Amarillo, Dec 10, 2024 · retrieved Oct 10, 2026primarySubject-authoredConsent agenda approved 5-0 except item kk; item 8.QQ.
36.Amarillo City Council Minutes, 2025-09-09 Regular Meeting — City of Amarillo (CivicClerk), Sep 9, 2025 · retrieved Oct 11, 2026primarySubject-authoredItem 8.D: "Canadian River Municipal Water Authority update. Mayor Stanley introduced the item. Drew Satterwhite, Canadian River Municipal Water Authority, presented the item."
37.City Council Regular Meeting agenda, October 13, 2026 — City of Amarillo, Oct 9, 2026 · retrieved Oct 10, 2026primarySubject-authoredAgenda PDF from the City's CivicClerk portal; 'published' approximated as the Friday before the meeting (posting date not shown). Item 4.2 'Forensic Audit Update'; consent item 6.7 (ARPA-funded software renewal).
38.City of Amarillo account register, pool fund, January - March 2025 — City of Amarillo, Aug 25, 2025 · retrieved Oct 30, 2026primarySubject-authoredSpreadsheet account register listed on the City's Financial Transparency page. Lists each payment and deposit from the City's pooled cash account with the payee and the fund charged (for example "FD6200 Information Technology Fund").
39.City of Amarillo account register, pool fund, October - December 2025 — City of Amarillo, May 14, 2026 · retrieved Oct 30, 2026primarySubject-authoredSpreadsheet account register listed on the City's Financial Transparency page. Lists each payment and deposit from the City's pooled cash account with the payee and the fund charged.
40.Amarillo City Council Regular Meeting Minutes, 2024-10-08 — City of Amarillo, Oct 8, 2024 · retrieved Oct 14, 2026primarySubject-authoredStates: "Mayor Stanley stated that he had a conflict of interest form on file for Items 9.A and 9.B and excused himself from the meeting. Mayor Pro Tem Scherlen introduced the item."
41.City of Amarillo check registers (pooled funds), consolidated — City of Amarillo (monthly check registers); consolidated by Khaotic Digital · download · coverage 2022-07 .. 2026-07 · retrieved Oct 18, 2026datasetPublished download replaces private individuals with their role (see Methodology).
42.How Digital Assistants Will Deliver for Your Business — Dell Technologies (blog), Aug 15, 2025 · retrieved Oct 14, 2026newsVendorStance: favorable
43.Dell Technologies Expands Dell AI Factory with NVIDIA to Turbocharge AI Adoption — Dell Technologies, May 20, 2024 · retrieved Oct 25, 2026primarySubject-authoredPress release datelined Las Vegas. Does not mention Amarillo or UneeQ.
44.UneeQ Launches First Digital Human SDK for Enterprises to Build Apple Vision Pro and AR/VR Customer Experiences — UneeQ (press release via CMSWire), Jul 5, 2023 · retrieved Oct 25, 2026newsVendorCompany press release republished on CMSWire's wire page. Mentions the Clara digital human UneeQ developed for Dell Technologies World 2023.
45.Elevate the Self-Service Experience for Your Customers — Dell Technologies (blog), May 20, 2024 · retrieved Oct 25, 2026newsVendorBy Bethan Williams, Dell. Does not mention UneeQ.
46.Digital Assistant Solutions Update with Dell and NVIDIA — Dell Technologies (blog), Jul 26, 2024 · retrieved Oct 25, 2026newsVendorBy Adam Glick, Dell. Includes a quote attributed to the City's CIO and a photo caption of him on stage at Dell Technologies World.
47.デル・テクノロジーズ、デジタルアシスタントサービス「Dell Digital Assistant Solution with UneeQ」の提供を開始 (Dell Technologies begins offering the digital assistant service "Dell Digital Assistant Solution with UneeQ") — Dell Technologies Japan (via PR TIMES), Feb 12, 2026 · retrieved Oct 25, 2026primarySubject-authoredJapanese-language release; English renderings in claims are the wiki's translation. Pricing is listed as individual quotation.