More government agencies are embracing advanced AI. Here’s how to do it while keeping humans at the center of your work.
- Advances in AI technology like agentic AI give government agencies more reasons than ever to use AI to do everything from automate low-level, routine tasks to bolster strategic decision making.
- Workers within government agencies are also using AI as an assistant that alleviates job stressors by delivering quicker access to data as well as alerts and reminders.
- Leaders at government agencies should consider specific AI use cases most relevant to their work and consult with an advisor to develop an AI roadmap.
As AI technology evolves beyond conversational AI to offer more task-oriented or even autonomous AI tools, government agencies are moving to take advantage. But does this mean that humans will be pushed aside?
It doesn’t have to. In fact, state and county government agencies are increasingly demonstrating how AI can be used to enhance jobs, delivering both efficiency and a better work experience.
Keep reading to learn more about how you can implement AI to not just keep a human in the loop, but help them thrive.
New tools like agentic AI are more powerful than generative AI chatbots
You’re probably familiar with AI chatbots like ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot. These were the first wave of AI technology that really broke into the public consciousness and will generate an answer or other output in response to an input from a human user.
But over the last six months or so, leveraging agentic AI has pushed the boundaries of AI technology well beyond this basic framework. Agentic AI is capable of autonomously taking on assignments rather than just responding to prompts, which allows you to not just quickly create a document or a slide show, but also fully automate certain workflows.
And chatbots themselves are increasingly being used as tools to create AI agents — simpler versions of agentic AI that can automate basic tasks.
Why should state and local government agencies explore AI tools like agentic AI?
Newer AI concepts, like agentic AI or headless AI, can help government agencies operate more efficiently and effectively. Used correctly, these tools don’t eliminate jobs at all but allow your team to do more — and focus on more interesting work.
Key benefits include:
- Augment processes rather than replace roles: Data entry, intake paperwork and ground-level analysis are unappealing parts of many state or county government jobs. These processes can be augmented with or even handed entirely over to AI, allowing your team members to focus on the more energizing, engaging aspects of their work.
- Radically simplify data sharing: Headless AI is a type of AI that has no user interface at all but operates in the background to share data between different systems via APIs. For example, headless AI can make it vastly simpler to pull together details about a constituent from several different systems to instantly create a full case history — or to automatically update each of those systems based on a Microsoft Teams chat you have with a colleague.
- Automate repetitive tasks: AI agents and agentic AI can really shine by automating certain repetitive tasks that don’t involve qualitative human judgment. For any given role, consider automating the 30% of responsibilities that are the most dull and repetitive, freeing up the team member to give more attention to the 70% of the job that demands more flexibility, creativity and humanity.
- Support a human-in-the-loop (HITL) oversight process: AI retains human oversight, from governance policies to tool choices to a human review of AI outputs, helping to ensure that your team’s needs and expertise remain at the center of your work.
- Serve your community more effectively: Automating aspects of your work allows you to broaden your impact. For example, by using agentic AI to handle background check approvals in the foster care system, you could significantly speed up the approvals process.
- Reduce employee burnout: By automating the least appealing parts of many jobs, you can also help reduce employee burnout. This can improve morale for not just individual team members but your team as a whole.
What are some top AI use cases for government agencies?
Government agencies are increasingly moving beyond AI pilots to actively integrating the technology into their daily workflows. For example, agencies are using AI to:
- Create an internal AI assistant: An internal team at one major state-level department built an AI assistant that draws on an internal knowledge base to save the department’s team from spending countless hours navigating dense government regulations to answer questions or guide decisions. (This is another area where headless AI could help you quickly integrate data from multiple systems.)
- Complex scheduling: One county-level human services agency needs to create monthly schedules for hundreds of employees who make home visits to thousands of clients. This was a massive undertaking — until the agency began using an AI agent to do it.
- Develop policies and SOPs: Government departments are now leaning on AI to create SOPs, internal policy documents, templates and other technical writing that nobody is eager to take on but are essential to the smooth functioning of your organization.
- Rapid prototyping and development: New standards such as Model Context Protocol (MCP) integrate AI models with external data sources, allowing secure ways to access LLMs and APIs to begin to rapidly build, design and maintain large enterprise systems.
- Faster permitting: Certain agencies have begun using AI agents to speed up building permit applications, as the agents can quickly review thousands of pages of building code regulations to check for compliance issues.
- Complex, multistep workflows: Agentic AI is even able to oversee certain complicated processes like grant funding compliance, managing public records or onboarding new vendors.
- Code enforcement: Cities and counties are adding AI-powered cameras to maintenance trucks or other government vehicles. As these vehicles drive around, the cameras can spot code violations on buildings or properties, triggering an automated enforcement letter to the property owner.
- Cybersecurity: Agentic AI can monitor your networks 24/7 to watch for potential threats and respond immediately if an incident is detected, including by taking basic defensive actions and alerting key individuals within your organization.
How can program or department heads at government agencies make better use of AI?
If you’re a departmental head or program lead at a state or local government agency, here’s how you can start making more effective use of AI:
1. Understand relevant state or county regulations
Your state or county may have specific AI regulations or policies in place that your agency will need to abide by. Review all relevant rules before moving forward.
2. Use what you have on hand
AI doesn’t have to mean expensive new investments. Many government agencies already have active Microsoft Copilot licenses, for example. This means you already have the ability to build AI agents to automate certain routine tasks.
3. Consult an advisor
Work with a third-party advisory firm to explore specific AI use cases that would allow your team to work more effectively without eliminating jobs. An advisor can help you create an overall AI roadmap to guide your long-term adoption efforts, develop governance policies and conduct a rapid analysis on potential use cases to assess which use cases are most ripe for AI and automation to deliver impact.
4. Implement in stages
Don’t try to rebuild all your workflows overnight. Implement AI agents and agentic AI in phases, starting with one or two use cases at a time, focusing on what makes the most sense based on your rapid analysis. This will help with change management by giving your team time to adapt.
How Wipfli can help
We advise state and local government agencies on using AI and technology to boost impact without eliminating jobs. Let’s talk about the challenges you face and how we can help you overcome them. Start a conversation.
Let’s make your agency more effective
