In the span of one week, SolveTO was featured on five media outlets:
- CBC Metro Morning, live radio interview about AI-powered civic reporting
- Global News Toronto, TV segment on the evening news
- Toronto Today, in-depth written piece on howI SolveTO works
- Now Toronto, interview about the platform and its impact
- Ben Mulroney Show, national radio/podcast segment
What they asked about
Every interviewer wanted to know the same things:
“Why did you build this?” Because reporting a pothole to the City of Toronto takes 5 pages and 20+ form fields. SolveTO does a new issue a 30 second and adding your voice to an existing issue is a 15 second process.
“How does the AI work?” You snap a photo. The AI analyzes it, identifies the issue type, estimates severity, and drafts a professional report. Then it goes directly to 311 and your ward councillor.
“What about the councillor scores?” This was the toughest question. I explained that SolveTO complements the city, it doesn’t compete with it. The scores are based on publicly available data and community reports. They help residents understand how responsive their representatives are.
The side-by-side video
I recorded a comparison video, reporting the same pothole through SolveTO (left) and through toronto.ca (right), side by side.
SolveTO: 2 taps, 30 seconds, report sent to 311 AND councillor.
Toronto.ca: 5 pages, 20+ fields, 3-5 minutes, report goes to 311 only.
That video resonated more than anything else I shared.
What I learned
Media coverage validates the idea, but it doesn’t build the product. The day after CBC, I was back writing code. The coverage brought attention. The product has to keep earning it.
