AI in Government

Governments are increasingly using AI to improve how public services are designed and delivered — making them more personalised, accessible and responsive to user needs. From automating administrative tasks to tailoring services to individuals and predicting future demand, AI is expanding what public services can do. While adoption is still uneven, practical applications are emerging across countries, showing how AI can help governments serve people more effectively.

The current state of play

Governments are applying AI across a range of service delivery contexts. Key areas include:

• Automating and optimising tasks. AI automates routine administrative tasks such as document sorting, case triage and verification, freeing public servants for higher-value activities. For example, Greece uses AI to assess property contracts in under 10 minutes, while Sweden applies decision-support tools in employment services to help allocate jobseeker support more efficiently.
• Offering new sources of information for advanced insights. By analysing data from diverse sources (e.g. images, sensors, documents), AI enables real-time performance monitoring and early detection of service delivery issues. In Portugal, satellite data is used to power open-access land monitoring tools that inform urban planning.
• Providing constantly accessible information and services. AI-powered chatbots now assist millions of citizens with 24/7 support. Portugal’s gov.pt chatbot supports 12 languages and over 2,300 services. France’s “Albert” supports civil servants, while Greece’s “mAigov” and UAE’s holographic assistants offer intuitive user experiences.
• Providing tailored and proactive services. AI enables proactive and tailored service delivery, from personalised job-matching to automatic eligibility checks for benefits. France’s Services Publics+ platform uses AI to personalise responses and flag systemic pain points, improving both satisfaction and efficiency.
• Forecasting future public service needs. Predictive analytics powered by AI help anticipate user needs and optimise service provision. Cities like Helsinki and Los Angeles use AI to forecast traffic, while Singapore’s “Moments of Life” app delivers personalised reminders for vaccinations and school enrolment.

While the benefits are clear, governments face ongoing challenges in building the necessary data infrastructure, staff capacity and evaluation practices. Risks around inadequate or skewed data in AI systems, lack of transparency and digital exclusion persist — especially where systems make high-impact decisions.

Examples from practice

• France: Supporting civil servants with generative AI. France’s “Albert” is a generative AI tool that assists public employees in drafting responses and finding regulations. Used in France Services centres, it improves response speed and consistency while ensuring human oversight.
• Greece: AI-powered virtual assistant on gov.gr. The mAigov assistant helps users navigate over 1,300 digital services. Launched in 2023, it supports 25 languages and has already responded to over 1.6 million queries — making services more accessible and efficient.
• Finland: Predicting visitor flows with Tampere Pulse. Tampere uses AI to forecast city centre traffic using camera data, weather feeds and event schedules. Local businesses and public workers use these insights to optimise planning and operations.
• Portugal: Land monitoring with satellite AI. Portugal’s SMOS system uses AI to analyse land cover from satellite images. It provides accurate, open-access maps to support planning and transparency.
• United Arab Emirates: AI-driven holographic assistance. An interactive AI virtual assistant that engages with users directly through a hologram. They users throughout the user journey, answering queries instantly in multiple languages and assisting with services. If further assistance is required, the AI assistant can transfer the conversation to a human officer in holographic form.
• United Kingdom: Analysing trust in AI tools for public services. The UK’s Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) has explored the acceptance of AI on government websites. Results show that most people think the government should use AI to help citizens and support increases further when people are actually exposed to government AI tools.

Untapped potential and the way forward

AI can make public services more proactive, personalised and responsive. Tools like digital twins, rules-as-code and generative chatbots can anticipate needs and simplify access. Behavioural science help ensure systems match how people think and decide, reducing complexity and building trust. To deliver on this potential, governments need ethical frameworks, strong oversight and user-centred design to ensure services are inclusive, transparent and widely trusted.

Learn more

Review a detailed section on AI in public service design and delivery here.