As demand for artificial intelligence rises, local governments are looking into how they can harness the advanced technology in their own departments. From critical constituent-facing services and day-to-day administrative tasks to important long-term goals, there are plenty of opportunities to use AI in the public sector—it’s just a matter of how. Learn the intricacies of introducing AI to local governmental organizations today.

What is AI in government services?

When it comes down to brass tacks, AI is more than just a buzzword. In government settings, AI tools are specially designed to handle repetitive, high-volume tasks for increased efficiency and workforce augmentation. How AI in public services is implemented can appear in a variety of ways, depending on the department.

Given that artificial intelligence can be a highly controversial topic, it’s impossible to discuss the topic of AI in government services without mentioning the important rules and regulations put in place to safeguard how it is used. Considering factors like transparency and public disclosure and requiring human approval before major actions as new tools are brought on board is key to protecting citizens, employees and your government department at large. But one thing is apparent: when used appropriately, AI in the public sector has the ability to change lives.

AI technologies used in government services:

  • Computer vision: Trains machines to interpret and understand visual information to oversee governmental tasks such as infrastructure inspections, traffic management and predictive maintenance.
  • Generative AI: Learns patterns from massive datasets to create prompted content, typically applied to draft policy documents, assist employees in summarizing information and modernize legacy applications.
  • Machine learning: Uses algorithms to read massive data sets, identify anomalies and make predictions, seen most in fraud claims and financial misconduct investigations.
  • Natural language processing: Powers conversational chatbots and 24/7 virtual assistants to aid citizens and help agencies analyze public feedback.
  • Intelligent automation: Combines automated business workflows with AI to validate data and make independent choices, something often seen in government grant application settings, fraud prevention and payroll.
  • Optical character recognition: Converts paper-based records into searchable digital formats, which has been invaluable in record archiving, form processing and driver license verification.

How important is AI in local government?

Between budget cuts and staffing shortages, local governments are often searching for ways to save money without sacrificing citizen satisfaction and service levels. Many departments have already spent time and money updating legacy systems and switching to cloud native architecture, but it’s time to take it one step further with the secret weapon for optimization: AI in local government.

Currently, countless departments across the United States (and beyond) are transitioning into the early adoption phases of this new-age technology, and while they’re starting small, with focused use cases, the impact has already been great. If you want to increase efficiency, enhance service delivery and enable accurate data-driven decision making, it’s time to join the ranks and find the best AI tools for your department.

What are the benefits of using AI in the public sector?

Anyone who works in the public sector knows that ensuring citizens’ quality of life is meant to be a top priority. Specialized AI applications for government services are designed to help constituent-facing programs run faster without overworking human employees. Augmented and automated tools, such as virtual assistants, translation tools and personalized support systems, are designed to reduce wait times, break down communication barriers and make turning in documents and requests more accessible to the average constituent.

Using AI in public services can also stimulate economic growth. When a local government uses AI to automate zoning checks and licensing approvals, wait times are cut, enabling local entrepreneurs to launch, create jobs and generate tax revenue at faster rates. More internal-facing AI models offer a predictive approach to infrastructure repair, lowering the overall long-term maintenance costs and ensuring public funds are spent as efficiently as possible.

Oftentimes, when people are trying to accomplish goals within a local government, they’re met with red tape—but with advanced technology, that doesn’t have to be the case. By automating routine administrative tasks, analyzing complex datasets and reducing the need for human involvement, AI for public services offers a more streamlined path to decision-making. Whether the tool is used for something like council meeting summarization or resource deployment, AI in local government shifts operations from slow and reactive to near-instant and proactive.

Public services in local governments that benefit most from AI:

  • Cybersecurity: AI in public services can be trained to secure digital infrastructure against high-speed attacks by continuously monitoring network baselines and searching for behavioral anomalies and vulnerabilities. If something is flagged, the AI program will also execute an automated incident response. Since many city offices outsource essential services to vendors, they’ll also use this technology to audit supply chains and prevent backdoor attacks.
  • Health and social services: AI tech for the public sector helps case managers to summarize documents, manage inventories and predict which households or families may require preventative healthcare interventions and social assistance. By tracking electronic health records, social media and environmental sensors, these programs can also predict, follow and alert the public to potential disease outbreaks.
  • Citizen communication: AI-powered chatbots on local government websites provide users with 24/7 help in finding online information, navigating permit applications and searching routine inquiries. In the past, a citizen would have to go to the office or call a number—no longer.
  • Law enforcement: AI designed for the public sector can act as “force multipliers” for law enforcement agencies. Tools can be used to process large amounts of digital evidence, transcribe interviews, automate low-brow administrative tasks and enhance public safety.
  • Infrastructure management: AI tools in the public sector play a key role in easing road congestion, adjusting traffic signals and expediting emergency vehicle response times. The computer vision capabilities and IoT sensors can also be used to identify potholes and forecast future wear, turning traditionally manual processes into data-driven operations.
  • Emergency response and public safety: Predictive AI technology in government services helps predict weather-related disasters such as flooding, tornadoes and wildfires to alert everyone in the area of potential risks. Similar tools can also be used to deploy first responders to the scene of the crime.
  • Back-office administration: NLP and generative AI in the public sector make day-to-day tasks for office employees easier to handle. When draft proposals, meeting minutes and revenue trends are handed over to artificial intelligence, the staff has more free time to focus on more important goals.

A real-world use case: implementing AI chatbots into local government

In an ideal world, the government would always be working around the clock to process every single request and handle each issue as soon as it comes up—but that’s just not the case. Even public servants need to sleep sometimes. But by introducing the latest artificial intelligence technology, we can get pretty close to realizing that dream.

Picture this: in an effort to make their services more accessible to constituents, both during and after hours, a government office decides to introduce a 24/7 chatbot or virtual assistant to the official website. Now, whenever a citizen has a question about something like tax regulations or a permit application, they can ask at whatever time works best for them, outside of normal business hours.

AI chatbots used in the public sector are designed to provide instant support, offer consistent information and, when necessary, escalate complex issues to human agents. As the tool evolves, chatbots may be able to handle more complex tasks, taking the pressure off human staff and placing power back in the hands of constituent users.

What are the main challenges of introducing AI to government services?

Artificial intelligence may sound like a magical fix-all for government services, but in reality, there are a few challenges to overcome during the early stages of implementation. Before you attempt to scale your operations and apply AI tools for public services, you’ll want to consider and work through these roadblocks.

Primary challenges to AI in the public sector:

  • Legacy integration
  • Data quality
  • Security concerns
  • Critical skills gaps
  • Public trust

Why is legacy integration vital for AI in government services?

AI tools for public services require access to vast data pools, but since the majority of local governments have relied solely on aging IT infrastructure for decades, updates must be made. Integrating AI through abstraction layers and APIs is the best way to unlock trapped siloed data to streamline operations without disrupting critical services. With AI acting as a bridge, automatically reverse-engineering legacy logic and code, there is no need to replace the entire system to proceed with your strategy.

Why does data quality matter for public sector AI?

In the public sector, where every decision directly impacts citizens' lives and involves taxpayer money, high-quality data is essential. If the data is muddled or missing, the AI tool is unable to dictate the fairness and reliability that government services are designed to provide. To avoid producing biased and unethical outcomes, you’ll need to make sure that the data pools are clean and accurate.

What are the safety concerns for introducing AI to local government?

When it comes to AI in government services, safety should be a top concern. If tools are integrated in the wrong way or are not kept up to date, the possibility of sensitive constituent information leaking increases. To prevent data exposure and protect vulnerable public records, you’ll want to invest only in well-researched and highly reviewed AI tools and implement a zero trust architecture at the start of the process.

Why is the critical skills gap a risk when implementing AI in public services?

Finding and keeping talent that understands how to use AI public service tools has proven difficult. A majority of the current public sector IT professionals lack the necessary skills, creating a difficult barrier to digital transformation.

If left unchecked, this fundamental disconnect between potential and execution can lead to failed use cases, vulnerabilities and lacking service delivery. Investing in a tiered AI training framework and partnering with an outside consulting firm are two ways to combat this challenge.

Why is it hard to gain public trust in AI in the public sector?

Let’s face it: the concept of AI has become increasingly polarizing in the public eye. If you’re considering introducing AI tools to your government services, it’s important to understand that your citizens may try to push back.

Some are motivated by their dislike of the technology in general; others may raise concerns about biases and data protection. The best way to quell their fears and queries is to be completely transparent and accountable every step of the way, prioritizing human-centric designs whenever possible.

How to introduce an AI strategy to your local government

Whether hiring an experienced third party, like CGI, to handle your AI for public services or attempting this new venture internally, remember that every step of the process is equally important. Don’t launch an organization-wide strategy right off the bat. Start small and follow this step-by-step guide.

5 steps to planning your local government AI strategy:

  1. Step 1: Establish governance: Determine clear governance policies for how your organization intends to use the AI tools in the public sector. This should list the contexts for both when utilizing the technology is and is not acceptable.
  2. Step 2: Fund research and usage: Raise and allocate dedicated municipal funds for pilot projects before continuing. This will enable staff to prototype tools, evaluate possibilities and model long-term production costs before a rollout.
  3. Step 3: Explore partnerships: The private sector is one of the leaders in developing and deploying AI tools and systems, and may be a valuable collaborator in your attempt at modernization.
  4. Step 4: Use cases and scaling: Identify specific operational challenges in your department to design targeted pilots. These use cases will help you to map out a practical workflow for future scaling.
  5. Step 5: Ensure compliance: Make sure to implement structured risk management protocols, invest in continuous monitoring and request independent audits to ensure all contracts and workflows align with data privacy standards in the future.

Let CGI help you incorporate AI into your local government

AI is becoming more and more paramount to the local government. Don’t get left behind—connect with CGI today to discuss AI’s role in public services.