Public sector organizations are among some of the most strained businesses operating today, often working under a tough mandate to provide cheap or free public services while maintaining a financially viable operating model.
They are under immense pressure to perform without access to the infrastructure or budget enjoyed by the private sector. Staff often work longer hours while savings have to be made on digital services, creating outdated legacy tech stacks.
A report from Veracode found that the public sector had an 18% higher level of security debt than businesses in the private sector, while a report from the UK government found recently that public sector services are being severely hampered by “archaic” legacy tech.
Few sectors are in quite so desperate need of digital transformation. Luckily, there are few technologies quite so ready to provide that transformation than AI, now increasingly utilized by public sector organizations as a method of improving productivity and ramping up efficiency.
As it is doing with all manner of industries, AI in the public sector has the power to reduce the burden of certain tasks and speed up digital processes, thus lightening staff workloads and improving efficiency.
How is AI being used in the UK public sector?
The UK government has been vocal about its desire to incorporate AI into the country’s public sector and bring the technology into public services to improve user and staff experiences.
One notable announcement came at the start of this year as Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled the UK’s ‘AI Opportunity Action Plan,’ a project praised by the tech industry for its ambition.
As well as increasing the level of jobs and investment in the UK, Starmer said the enhanced use of AI would also help transform public services. Chancellor Rachel Reeves echoed the sentiment, saying it would help make public services more efficient.
More specifically, AI will be used to save staff time on administrative tasks, speed up planning consultations, and be applied to specific problems and use cases that need to be solved by the public sector.
For example, AI can analyze camera footage to identify and speed pothole repairs or provide support to healthcare professionals by performing medical diagnoses with increased speed and accuracy.
According to a prominent think tank in the UK, AI solutions could automate huge parts of the public sector workforce and reduce workforce time by 20%, though experts said that AI tools must be incorporated correctly.
The think tank estimated that the implementation of AI tools could save up to £10 billion annually for the nation, and that total savings could total £34 billion a year by the end of the next parliament.
How is AI being used in the US public sector?
Much like the UK, the US public sector is hampered by a lack of digitalization, weighed down by legacy tech. A report from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that billions of dollars may be going to waste at the hands of dated technology in government.
Little wonder, then, that the US public sector is looking to inject AI into its operations to overhaul efficiency and ramp up productivity. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), for example, revealed its ‘AI Public Sector Playbook’ at the start of 2025.
The DHS claims to have launched various AI and machine learning (ML) initiatives to support capabilities in areas such as disaster response, cybersecurity, immigration services, and border security.
Some of the case studies published in the playbook include generative AI applications that improved investigation leads, assisted local governments with hazard mitigation, and developed training schemes for staff.
The US Department of State (DOS) also reports positive AI use in its public sector operations, such as using AI tools to inform foreign policy decisions and increase overall operational efficiency.
The DOS cited various needs for AI, including accessing and analyzing large amounts of text data from reporting in the department, assessing the impact of department outreach, and countering disinformation.
How is AI being used in public sectors around the world?
Elsewhere in the world, AI is also being rolled out in public sector services to create value. For example, Europe is championing many AI use cases in the public sector space.
According to the G7’s ‘Toolkit for AI in the public sector,’ AI has the power to overhaul efficiency in internal operations, improve the effectiveness of policymaking and responsiveness of public services, and bolster overall transparency and accountability.
A study from the European Union (EU) found that AI could have many positive results for citizen-government interactions, the improvement of analytics, and an uptick in efficiency in areas like healthcare, mobility, e-government projects, and education.
“These sectors are identified as among the most ready for large-scale AI deployment, with applications ranging from autonomous vehicles and smart traffic systems to AI-driven healthcare solutions and education technologies,” the EU said.
Other countries such as Australia, India, Singapore, and South Korea, are noted by IDC as among some of the biggest public sector investors in AI and generative AI, with each country viewing the tech as a way of delivering on government objectives.
This wealth of public sector AI use is just the beginning, with innovation through AI set to ramp up. This is particularly true given that many of the world's largest tech companies are creating solutions that specifically cater to public services and provide platforms for government organizations to lighten their workload.
