The Moberly City Council Monday approved the purchase of AI software to better understand consumer habits.
Placer.ai is a company that uses cell phone data to track population growth, market trends, foot traffic and more. Users only receive summarized data insights, and personal information is not collected to ensure privacy.
The city, The Moberly Chamber of Commerce, The Moberly Area Economic Development Corporation and Randolph County will split the cost.
According to the agreement, the Moberly Chamber of Commerce will generate tourism and demographic reports from the data.
The city first announced plans to work with Placer.ai in 2023 to increase tourism to the area. The information can help understand where visitors come from, how long they stay and what events or businesses attract them.
Since working with Placer.ai, Moberly leaders say they have been able to track an increase in visitors from outside of the community. This information has been used to inform the content and targeted areas of tourism campaigns.
Kaylee Paffrath is the president and CEO of the Moberly Area Economic Development Corporation. She said data has been an important resource to businesses in the area.
“We've had some businesses in the area come to us at economic development to use the data to support their grants,” she said. "Smaller businesses throughout the community can really see the footsteps.”
Paffrath said she hopes the tech won’t scare off potential collaborators.
“I know AI can be scary with that in the name, but it really is a valuable tool to use in moving our community forward,” she said.
Paffrath said information may be used to attract future businesses to fill holes in the market.
The current contract lasts through September 2026. The previous contract, signed in 2023, lasted two years.
