How AI will revolutionise public services delivery

The public relies on governments at all levels—federal, state and local—for critical services when they're needed most. Examples include food safety, help for families and children in need, and support for military veterans. As in the private sector, technology can equip people in government to do their best work.

AI, in particular, can help reduce technical debt and enable better stewardship of tax dollars. The technology aids in streamlining processes in complex systems such as healthcare, improving transparency and providing better public services—especially in remote areas.

From my experience as both a government official and a leader in support roles, I know people go into public service to help others and make a difference. But there's often a gap between that aspiration and the reality of the day-to-day work. AI has the potential to remove friction and delay, freeing time for public sector organisations to focus on fulfilling their missions.

The AI imperative

Every government is under great fiscal pressure. They've invested in legacy systems that cannot be turned off because they perform critical services. But the underlying technology is increasingly fragile and difficult to maintain. Those ageing systems are unable to rapidly adapt to the growing challenges of climate change, public health, crime and pollution.

Personalised and responsive interactions powered by AI can significantly enhance the way constituents interact with government services, increasing trust and satisfaction. AI has the ability to optimise resource allocation and workflow management, helping public sector organisations operate more efficiently and cost-effectively.

By automating repetitive and time-consuming tasks, AI helps free employees for more strategic work. AI-driven insights support data-informed decision-making, which can lead to more effective policies and programs that better serve communities.

The push for AI-powered cities

Just five months ago, ServiceNow research revealed governments were beginning to embrace generative AI (GenAI). Our latest research on AI-powered cities, in collaboration with NVIDIA and Deloitte, found that 87% of the 250 cities surveyed are planning, piloting or actively using GenAI. And 83% of large cities are using traditional AI.

This is important because cities are the pivotal point where concepts are put to the test when it comes to public sector service delivery. If rubbish isn't picked up on time or potholes aren't fixed, residents know immediately and complain to their city officials. For that reason, cities are laboratories for new technology. They're very quick to experiment and turn on new capabilities.

City government leaders have reached a point where transformation is no longer an option—it's a necessity. They need a new approach to develop flexibility, agility, and resilience to address street safety, affordable housing and a thriving workforce.

Cities have a unique opportunity to modernise their front lines of customer service. By using AI to streamline, automate and consolidate basic requests, they can free limited staff to focus on more complex challenges and requests.

Early days for AI

The majority of cities (70%) in our study are just getting started with GenAI. Others, such as Singapore, are farther along in AI maturity. They're using the technology to improve everything from operations to transportation to sustainability.

For a city to use AI effectively, it needs commitment at the top of the organisation. Any technology change requires changes in processes and the ways people work. You can't underestimate that. Public sector organisations need change management, leadership commitment and training—in addition to a solid data strategy.

AI is evolving rapidly, but there are many proven success stories of cities that are already using it as a practical tool to help improve services. For example, the city of Raleigh, North Carolina, is using AI to aid in weather forecasting and urban planning.

Cities can also use AI to make better decisions about equipment maintenance schedules and positioning. Sao Paulo, Brazil, relies on AI for predictive maintenance for its ageing infrastructure.

To build trust with its constituents, the city of Amsterdam created an AI registry to track decisions and assumptions in developing AI applications. The registry provides transparency into the ways 42 government services are using AI.

Agentic AI in the public sector

Despite these success stories, AI is not a silver bullet that will solve all urban challenges if enough data is collected.

Agentic AI has a role to play here. Autonomous AI agents can help government leaders:

• Identify patterns
• See blind spots
• Improve decision-making
• Optimise energy use
• Improve public safety

In healthcare, Agentic AI is helping to manage patient data, schedule appointments and keep records up to date. In IT, AI agents interact with IT systems to retrieve information, troubleshoot issues, detect incidents and collaborate with humans to resolve them.

In HR, these agents assist with benefits questions, remind employees of training that's due and act as their concierge. In customer service, AI agents help the public quickly and easily find the library's hours of operation, upcoming city events and the rubbish pickup schedule, among other things.

How to get started with AI in public sector

The key to AI success is putting it in the flow of work. It must be part of the way people get work done. That's why I'm excited to be at ServiceNow, because that's the approach we take.

Our RaptorDB product, for example, is a next-generation database that can equip governments and officials to safely transition from expensive and outdated legacy systems. We have the ability to overlay any system with a single pane of glass. That means governments at all levels can start to eliminate their technical debt to be better stewards of tax dollars.

The best way to begin implementing AI in the public sector is to use it to address a legitimate problem you want to solve. But don't start with the riskiest, most complicated part of work. Start with something that's more contained and understood. Apply AI to that, learn from that experience and then iterate. You can gain confidence and then scale it.

The future of AI in public sector

Embracing AI positions public sector organisations to both meet current challenges and prepare for future demands.

One of the real breakthroughs is going to be doing things we couldn't do before, such as simplifying systems for tracking payments in federal health programs and tracking payments. AI is going to do a lot to create more continuity from federal to state to local government—even to doctor's surgeries.

We'll have a connected, transparent ecosystem rather than a kludgy black box that's difficult to understand and interact with. Things are going to become a lot smoother and more transparent. As a result, we'll be able to help families and children more effectively and provide more timely support for those in greatest need.

Get more insights in our AI-powered cities of the future report.