Imagine a world where every citizen, resident, and visitor experiences seamless and effective interactions with local and state governments. Information about government services is easy to access and understand. Services are equally distributed and efficiently delivered. Civil servants administering these services have full access to the accurate information they need to perform their duties effectively. This isn't a distant dream—it's the power of AI for citizen engagement.
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Generative AI (GenAI) has the power to change how governments connect with those they serve. AI, when implemented correctly, can consistently and reliably answer questions and automate tasks, making public services more accessible.
A recent survey conducted by NASCIO and McKinsey among state CIOs reveals that government organizations are turning to GenAI to enhance productivity, focusing on the following key areas:
Let's explore how AI-powered citizen engagement tools in state and local government can help achieve these objectives and more.
In our hyper-connected world, citizens and residents expect immediate, accurate answers from their local and state governments. The traditional methods of engagement—phone calls, emails, and in-person visits—are often slow, inefficient, resource-intensive, and frustrating for citizens and civil servants alike. Websites are available to citizens 24/7 and have helped substantially in serving information. But many citizen-serving websites are clunky, hard to navigate, and time-consuming for information seeking tasks. AI fills this gap by offering real-time, self-service support. This ensures that citizens and residents can access the resources they need — from obtaining permits, to learning about community events, and applying for the assistance they need — at any time, day or night.
Citizens, residents, and visitors are often overwhelmed by the information overload on local and state government websites. They don’t know where to look to find the answers they need. This can be a frustrating experience that leaves them feeling disconnected from their government and the services they expect.
Generative AI can help government workers and residents find reliable answers quickly from trusted sources. They can use GenAI applications to check proposals and permits, access local services, research public official decisions and community impacting actions, and more.
AI can help raise awareness about community resources and help citizens and residents access them with ease. AI can give clear and simple information in different languages and formats, including voice and text. This helps all residents, no matter their background or tech skills, find what they need.
AI tools that support multiple languages help break down language barriers. This makes communication easier between governments and their diverse communities. Multilingual support ensures that non-English-speaking residents can engage fully with government services.
Integrating AI into government support services like 311 enables staff to efficiently find accurate answers to citizens' inquiries. During low staffing periods, reliable self-service options can also be made available to residents. In emergency situations, AI can assist by delivering vital information to those in need. By alleviating the burden of the repetitive response requirements, government employees can focus on addressing more complex resident issues. This approach not only enables governments to address challenging needs more effectively with reduced wait times but also enhances resident satisfaction through streamlined and efficient service delivery.
AI tools help governments analyze data to identify gaps and improve services for their communities. For instance, government officials can see which questions are asked most often. They can also identify information gaps and find ways to improve service delivery and community engagement.
AI can streamline planning initiatives by helping employees find answers about rules, regulations, and contracts in seconds. This helps accelerate project planning and development, so citizens and residents see improvements to their community faster.
AI-powered digital assistants are changing the game for how state and local governments engage with citizens and residents. They provide a variety of features that simplify access to services and enhance the overall citizen experience. Residents and visitors can easily find answers to their questions about various community resources. Whether it's obtaining a library card, reserving park space, or navigating public transit, help is readily available, from anywhere, at any time.
Using advanced machine learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP) and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) AI technologies, digital assistants deliver accurate, context-aware responses in multiple languages. This innovation improves communication between residents and governments and reduces the workload for human support agents.
A recent survey of public sector leaders by GovLoop found that their top two goals for using AI are to:
Digital assistants can help public sector leaders meet both objectives for AI implementation.
Digital assistants can help public sector leaders meet their top objectives for AI: improving self-service and modernizing citizen service.
Imagine you're in a foreign country trying to navigate a non-English city website that was last updated in 2004. Consider the challenge of locating a specific piece of information buried among thousands of pages in a language you don’t understand. For residents of English-speaking countries whose first language isn't English, or for those who find it difficult to navigate a complicated web of resources, this scenario mirrors their experience of using most municipal websites.
AI digital assistants help citizens and residents easily access information and services through voice and text options in multiple languages. They provide fast, easy answers, so residents don't have to search sprawling websites or wait on hold for information.
"Having more space for government to serve each individual citizen on a personal level is the core part of where we want to go. And government has the ability to do that now using generative AI tools."
Imagine a helpful assistant. This assistant speaks many languages. It can answer questions about community resources, help with bookings, and guide residents on local services like waste management. All with a simple conversation.
Powered by advanced AI technologies like Pryon RAG Suite, digital assistants are setting new standards for constituent engagement. By providing instant, accurate responses sourced from thousands of municipal documents, digital assistants streamline administrative processes and deliver personalized experiences to citizens and residents. Their multilingual capabilities and natural language processing break down language barriers and ensure that all residents have equitable access to public information.
A U.S. city has transformed citizen engagement by introducing an AI digital assistant powered by Pryon. This powerful tool makes it easier for residents to access information about city services and community resources through conversation.
Nearly a quarter of the city's 200,000 residents do not speak English. This made it challenging for them to find information on the city’s website. The Pryon-powered digital assistant solves this problem by enabling smooth communication in multiple languages.
The digital assistant listens to questions and delivers accurate answers from thousands of webpages on the city’s website. The assistant ensures that all residents and visitors receive reliable, timely, and consistent information in their preferred language.
The city also gains valuable insights from the inquiries made by residents and visitors to the digital assistant. This feedback helps to identify gaps in access to information, allowing city government to make informed decisions that improve service for citizens and residents.
Bringing GenAI into public service has the potential to significantly enhance government efficiency and improve citizen services. However, the success of these AI technologies hinges on their effective adoption and implementation. Establishing trust with constituents is crucial. This entails selecting AI tools that are not only high-performing but also secure and responsible.
State and local government organizations must carefully address potential risks such as data privacy and algorithmic bias in their AI initiatives. By thoughtfully navigating these challenges and evaluating AI solutions with these considerations in mind, public sector leaders can foster a trustworthy and innovative environment. This approach ensures that AI technologies are seamlessly integrated into public services, allowing citizens and residents to benefit faster.
Putting aside the many benefits of AI, state and local governments must also consider the risks and challenges many low-quality AI tools pose before implementing a solution. These include:
Consumer-grade GenAI tools, such as ChatGPT and similar platforms, fall short in meeting the specific needs of government entities. For example, they frequently struggle with managing duplicate content, lack essential administrative controls, and do not incorporate the robust security measures that state and local governments require.
A retrieval-augmented generative (RAG) solution can help mitigate many of the risks associated with generative AI.
Retrieval-augmented generation works by first retrieving relevant information from a pre-existing dataset and then generating responses based on that data. By combining the benefits of both retrieval-based and generative approaches, RAG ensures accurate and relevant responses while minimizing the risk of errors and biases.
Retrieval-augmented generation can help tackle many risks associated with GenAI applications, but state and local governments have specific needs that can make RAG implementation tricky.
Think about these scenarios and consider if any apply to your organization:
If any of the above scenarios applies to your organization, you should consider a RAG framework that incorporates the following core features:
Enterprise-class RAG solutions like Pryon RAG Suite are designed from the ground up to include these features and more. This means that state and local governments can confidently use GenAI for citizen engagement, knowing that the solutions they choose offer high accuracy, strong security, quick results, and a best-in-class experience for residents and municipal staff.
Pryon RAG Suite helps state and local governments implement GenAI securely to get accurate and timely answers from trusted content, such as forms, regulations, case files, permits, public records, and webpages.
Our expert Solutions Engineers will work with you to design, build, and scale RAG-based solutions like chatbots and digital assistants, while reducing the risks of other GenAI offerings.
Let us show you how. Request a demo.
