Help citizens find answers and access services. AI chatbots and assistants for councils, government departments, and public bodies.
Citizens expect public services to be accessible and responsive. But councils and public bodies face budget pressure, staffing constraints, and growing demand. AI helps bridge this gap, providing information and services efficiently while freeing staff for work that needs human attention.
Public organisations face particular pressures:
Budget constraints: Doing more with less is not optional.
Diverse services: Councils alone handle everything from bin collection to social care.
Accessibility requirements: Services must reach all citizens, regardless of capability.
Democratic accountability: Decisions need transparency and human oversight.
Legacy systems: Technology infrastructure varies widely in age and capability.
AI must work within these realities.
AI applications suited to public sector include:
Citizen enquiry handling: Answering questions about services, eligibility, schedules, and procedures.
Service navigation: Helping citizens find the right service or department for their needs.
Application assistance: Guiding people through forms and applications.
Status updates: Providing information on requests, cases, and processes.
Internal support: Helping staff with policy questions, procedures, and information lookup.
Document processing: Handling applications, forms, and correspondence more efficiently.
Local councils use AI for:
Waste and recycling enquiries. Collection days, what goes where, and missed bin reporting.
Planning and building control information. Guidance, processes, and status updates where appropriate.
Council tax and benefits questions. Eligibility information, processes, and common queries.
Housing services. Enquiries, maintenance reporting, and guidance on next steps.
Environmental services. Reporting, information, and routing to the right team.
Parking and transport. Permits, PCN guidance, and service navigation.
Local information. Events, services, and signposting.
The repetitive nature of many council enquiries makes AI particularly effective.
Government departments apply AI to:
Policy information and guidance. Clear, grounded answers using approved sources.
Application and claim processes. Navigation, form guidance, and status updates where appropriate.
Compliance and regulatory enquiries. Information routing and triage with clear escalation.
Internal knowledge management. Faster access to procedures and operational guidance for staff.
Document processing and classification. Reducing manual handling of inbound forms and correspondence.
Scale makes AI economics compelling for national services.
Public sector AI must serve everyone:
Multiple channels: Web, phone, messaging to reach citizens where they are.
Plain language: Avoiding jargon and bureaucratic complexity.
Accessibility compliance: Meeting WCAG and government accessibility standards.
Human fallback: Easy routes to human assistance when needed.
Language support: Serving citizens whose first language is not English.
We design with inclusion as a requirement, not an afterthought.
Public sector has specific data requirements:
Data protection: Compliance with UK GDPR and public sector guidance.
Security standards: Meeting Cyber Essentials, PSN, and relevant security frameworks.
Data sovereignty: Appropriate hosting and data handling arrangements.
Transparency: Clear information about how AI is used and what data is processed.
We have worked with councils and public bodies on AI projects. We understand procurement processes, governance requirements, and the particular constraints of public sector work.
Recent public sector projects include citizen service chatbots and information assistants for councils and charitable organisations.
Public sector AI succeeds when governance and inclusion are designed in.
Accessibility is non-negotiable. Multi-channel support, plain language, and WCAG compliance are part of delivery, not “polish”.
Be clear about what AI can and cannot do. Citizens should understand when they are interacting with AI and how to reach a human when needed.
Keep decisions human-led where appropriate. For consequential decisions, AI should support staff rather than act autonomously.
Use these prompts to design public sector use cases responsibly.
“Which citizen journeys create the most demand today, and which steps are suitable for automation versus human handling?”
“What sources are authoritative, and how do we ensure answers are grounded and auditable?”
“What safeguarding, accessibility, and escalation rules must be built into the service?”
Often yes, for information, navigation, and triage—when accessibility, transparency, and governance are taken seriously.
Clear boundaries, safe responses, and fast escalation to human support with context.
Sometimes. Where APIs are limited, we design around constraints and start with low-risk capabilities.
Approved sources, citations where appropriate, monitoring, and controlled releases for changes.
Faster time-to-answer, reduced avoidable contact, improved accessibility, and staff time freed for complex cases.