Before redesigning a municipal website: build an AI-assisted content inventory

Start with the pages staff will have to approve

A permit page points to an old form. Another department publishes a different set of instructions. The document library contains both versions. Before either page moves to a redesigned site, the department needs to identify the current instructions and decide what happens to the older material.

Create one content register for those decisions. Each row should identify the source item, responsible department, resident task, proposed action, destination and approval. That register becomes the basis for migration scope and review assignments.

In its May 29, 2026 website procurement addendum, West Chicago assigned content inventory, migration planning and governance work to implementation, with departments participating in content review. That dated procurement requirement is a useful planning example; it does not establish the project's current delivery status.

Sources: City of West Chicago — Website Design RFP Addendum No. 1, May 29, 2026, section 2

Count the content and the service handoffs

Start with an approved crawl or CMS export, then reconcile it with department lists. Include HTML pages, PDFs, downloadable forms, images containing instructions, news, meeting material and links into external services. Give each item a stable row ID and retain its original URL. Record when the inventory was captured.

Ask departments about pages outside the main navigation and documents reached through old emails or bookmarks. Record where a resident leaves the website to pay, apply or submit a request, and who maintains that destination.

The U.S. Department of Justice's accessibility guidance recommends identifying content types and third-party content as part of understanding what a public entity provides. Its guidance also cautions that an archive label alone does not establish an accessibility exception. Have the appropriate agency staff assess applicable requirements; do not use age or low traffic as automatic permission to remove material.

Sources: U.S. Department of Justice — First Steps for the Title II Web Accessibility Rule, action steps 5–6

Give AI a defined classification task

Altioras Civic's AI-first approach starts here: use an approved AI tool to propose classifications from the inventory, then route the proposals to staff who can confirm them. Supply approved page text, URLs, content types, department names and the agency's decision criteria. Exclude restricted records and unnecessary personal details.

Ask for a row ID, proposed action, short reason, related duplicate URLs and questions requiring a department decision. Require source references for conflicting dates, form versions or instructions. The output should say when the supplied material cannot resolve a question.

Test the approach on a small, mixed sample that staff have already classified. Review missed duplicates, incorrect matches and unsupported retirement suggestions. If staff spend more effort correcting the suggestions than reviewing the source pages, revise the task before expanding it. AI should not delete pages, set retention periods or decide which fee schedule is authoritative.

Record the department decision separately

Keep the AI suggestion and the approved action in different fields. Assign a named reviewer and due date; an unresolved row stays open. Use analytics, resident enquiries and search terms to help prioritize review, while protecting required public information regardless of traffic.

The following actions are proposed working categories. Apply the municipality's own records, publication and accessibility requirements before approving them.

Resolve one conflict before migrating a whole section

Illustrative example: two business licence pages link to different application forms. AI groups the rows and flags the mismatch. The licensing owner checks the approved application and confirms which instructions apply. The web lead records the accepted destination; records staff decide how the older version must be retained or made available.

The team then tests the page from a resident's starting point, including the form link and contact information. The completed task, approved sources and recorded decision establish whether the item is ready to migrate.

Map approved content into the CMS

In a proposed Payload CMS implementation, a developer could define a service-page collection with fields for the service name, instructions, required documents, contact, content owner and next review date. Payload collections group documents under a defined schema. Those fields and their validation would be project configuration, not a ready-made municipal template.

Payload also documents configurable drafts and controls for who can read drafts or publish. Agree the department review process, configure access and test it before connecting any AI-assisted import. Saving a draft does not by itself implement a complete approval chain.

The same inventory can support a CivicPlus, Granicus govAccess, Govstack or another CMS project. Ask each supplier to demonstrate how the approved content and ownership records would be represented. Compare editor effort, migration responsibilities, hosting and ongoing support. Choosing Payload should include a plan for who maintains the configured application and its public-facing website.

Sources: Payload — Collection Configs; Payload — Drafts

Approve a migration batch staff can check

Select a manageable department or service group. Resolve its open content decisions, map accepted destinations, migrate to staging and compare each item with the approved register. Check links, documents, mobile layout and the relevant manual accessibility tasks alongside automated checks.

Record who accepted the batch and who owns its next review. Keep unresolved items visible in the launch decision. For help preparing the inventory, review assignments and migration acceptance checks, discuss a defined Website Modernization & Maintenance engagement with Altioras Civic.