To help combat the spread of false information, search experience cloud company Yext is today announcing a collaboration with the State of New Jersey to deliver to its citizens accurate, up-to-date information about COVID-19 with a new online information hub.
The new website, covid19.nj.gov, serves as the states’ frontline for sharing information from multiple NJ state agencies, federal resources like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Federation of American Scientists “Ask a Scientist” interactive tool. Yext provided natural language processing and a knowledge graph to help them understand the questions people are asking about the coronavirus.
Yext is now looking at rolling this service out to not only other states, but other governments around the world as well as not for profit organisations and charities, including in the UK.
The call for businesses and governments to eliminate misinformation around the coronavirus outbreak has never been louder; wrong answers during this COVID-19 pandemic will cost lives.
The State of NJ’s new website, covid19.nj.gov, uses natural language processing (NLP) to understand the questions people ask about the coronavirus, then delivers answers using data collected from multiple NJ state agencies, federal resources like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Federation of American Scientists “Ask a Scientist” interactive tool.
As the World Health Organisation categorises misinformation as contagious and as dangerous as the diseases it helps to spread, it’s increasingly important for people to have access to get the right answers and advice.
“Ensuring people have the right information during this pandemic can help save lives, it’s really as simple as that,” said Wendi Sturgis, EMEA CEO at Yext. “Unfortunately, misinformation is rife and can have dire consequences, particularly during difficult times like these; providing accurate and timely information is therefore critical in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. We want to be able to replicate the great work done in the State of New Jersey across the UK and elsewhere, and we’re committed to supporting everyone during this unprecedented time.”
“Over the last few weeks, we’ve been able to use our platform for good, and our collaboration with the State of New Jersey highlights how Yext can help any local, state or federal government agency in a moment of crisis,” said Brian Distelburger, Co-Founder and President of Yext. “In just a few days we were able to implement Yext Answers on the State’s new information hub, and together we now help give New Jersey residents the information they need to make important, potentially life-saving decisions about their health.”
As part of Yext’s commitment to helping government agencies and businesses provide verified information during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company is offering its Yext Answers product for free for 90 days. The trial includes Yext’s COVID-19 Knowledge Graph plug-in, which adds Frequently Asked Questions about coronavirus sourced directly from the CDC to a website’s search experience.
Learn more about the Yext Answers trial at www.nowronganswers.com.
