Cleco's AI Site Selection Assistant
An AI-Powered Site Selection Tool for Cleco Power.
In 2026, Cleco Power set out to modernize how site selectors and companies access location intelligence across its 24-parish service territory in Louisiana. Early-stage site selection runs on speed, yet the data that drives it has always been slow to reach the people who need it. Cleco partnered with DCI to build a first-of-its-kind AI chatbot, then launched it to the market with a coordinated public relations and marketing push. Introduced in April 2026 on clecodev.com, the tool quickly drew strong engagement from the site selection community and earned Cleco a 2026 Business Facilities Economic Development Award in the utility category.
The Challenge
Site selectors and companies evaluating Cleco's territory faced slow, fragmented access to the information that shapes location decisions. Data on rate structures, workforce, incentives, and infrastructure sat across complex resources that prospects had to navigate alone or wait on staff to compile. That friction came at the most decisive stage of the process, when a single delay can quietly drop a location from consideration. Cleco also lacked a unified knowledge source that its regional and parish-level partners could reference, leading to duplicated effort and inconsistent messaging.
The Solution
DCI's team created an AI chatbot purpose-made for economic development, rather than adapting a generic tool. Trained exclusively on Cleco's verified datasets and extended with Louisiana Economic Development and regional EDO sources, the tool answers the questions site selectors and C-suite executives ask most, from cost of doing business to infrastructure readiness. A conversational interface replaces static data-hunting with a natural dialogue, positioned as the website's front door and available instantly around the clock. To bring the tool to market, DCI's team developed a full rollout, including a news announcement, social media content, and a targeted email campaign to the site selection community. The result is a shared, investor-ready knowledge hub, launched with the visibility to reach the audiences who matter most.
The Results
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on a launch campaign to nearly 500 site selection consultants, well above industry benchmarks
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on the same campaign, also significantly exceeding benchmarks
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recognized in the utility category for economic development innovation
This is a million times better than hunting for information across multiple sources.
Director, Economic Development Cleco PowerGet in Touch
