HOUSTON – November 12, 2026 -- Fan conversations on Cincinnati Bengals gamedays ran nearly ten times a typical day, according to Alive5, the Houston-based chat provider that has added an AI assistant called Who Dey AI to Bengals.com and the Bengals Mobile App.
Bengals extend a 2013 Alive5 relationship with an AI chatbot
The launch expands a relationship that began in 2013, when the Bengals added Alive5 live chat to Bengals.com for ticket sales and service. The AI layer gives the club 24/7 customer support, captures and qualifies sales leads offline, and reduces staff busywork.
Who Dey AI answers only from club-supplied content
The chatbot is customized to the Bengals mascot and draws only from content the club provides, never the open internet. It handles gameday FAQs, player stats, ticket memberships, single-game options and special experiences. Ticket questions are routed to the right Bengals department and escalated to a live ticket representative when needed. Members of the fan service team can step in at any time.
Alive5 keeps customer data in the U.S. and out of model training
Across the Alive5 platform, customer data stays in a private, secure environment and is processed in the United States. It is never used to train AI models.
Kickoff-hour traffic drives the business case
Rohit Joshi, Head of Strategic Growth at Alive5, said most gameday conversations occur in the hours around kickoff. He said that is when an assistant like Who Dey AI frees staff to focus on the in-venue experience.
Payton Phillips, the Bengals' Director of Fan Acquisition and Development, said fans expect seamless digital experiences and that the chatbot gives them a faster way to get information at any time. Alive5 CEO Dustin Yu said the AI handles the most common fan questions, and "a real person is always one click away."
Alive5 built the platform for organizations that want to deploy AI without a large IT team, from sports teams to city offices and neighborhood businesses.