AI will revolutionize citizen-government interactions

What if interacting with government services was as seamless and swift as ordering your favorite book online? You log in to a sleek, intuitive portal and within seconds, you're greeted with personalized recommendations tailored to your needs.

What a great experience! I got what I wanted with very little effort. Convenience has forever changed our expectations. Where the private sector has made strides in exceptional customer experiences, the government is behind in providing smooth, fast services online to citizens.

As expectations rise, so does citizens' dissatisfaction with their government experiences. A recent Deloitte study revealed that on average, satisfaction with online government services lags by 21% from that of online private sector services. What’s clear? The citizen-consumer expects reliable, transparent, easy and accurate interactions.

Is insta-gov the future?
You might wonder why, given the technologies available – AI, generative AI (GenAI), cloud computing, integrated data and apps –governments aren’t racing to catch up. The answer: It’s complex, and it includes data access and quality issues as well as privacy regulations and policies. But there’s also good news: Governments are exploring AI and GenAI to support citizen interactions, like chatbots, digital assistants and digital IDs.

Chatbots are becoming more common in the public sector, and their automated, instant responses are win-win. Citizens feel supported and get the information they need, and agencies use their resources wisely, improving productivity.

While chatbots are great for straightforward interactions, what’s next? Digital assistants, of course. This technology is becoming pervasive – from our phones and smartwatches – on devices because it can understand more complex queries and tasks. They can perform a wide range of functions, from scheduling appointments to providing personalized recommendations. In the coming years, we will see more governments deploying digital assistants.

The consumer-citizen has the world at their fingertips, literally with their smartphone. They can shop, stay in touch with friends and entertain themselves at the touch of a screen. What they can’t do is prove their identity digitally. The technology for secure, privacy-protected digital is available. Many governments are moving toward digital IDs, giving citizens convenient access to government services.

Of the top 50 nations for GDP, 37 national governments have digital ID portals, and 13 are discussing or in the process of implementing them. The move toward digital IDs represents a significant step in modernizing government services, making them more accessible and secure for citizens.

These technologies provide 24/7 access to information, enhancing service availability and citizen engagement. By automating tasks traditionally handled by employees, these systems reduce the burden on government resources, allowing staff to focus on more complex issues. Automation also cuts operational costs, decreasing customer service handling time by about 77%.

Data, analytics and AI improve the citizen experience
Imagine trying to piece together a puzzle with scattered pieces hidden across different rooms. That’s the challenge governments face with citizen information spread across various agencies and outdated systems.

For citizen engagement systems to be reliable, accurate, and secure, this data needs to be integrated and well-governed. By adopting an enterprise-wide data and AI platform, governments can unify these puzzle pieces, ensuring they provide timely and convenient services to their citizens. This transformation enhances service delivery and builds trust and efficiency in public administration.

Just as a unified data platform can piece together scattered information, combining traditional AI techniques – like machine learning, computer vision and natural language processing – with GenAI can revolutionize how governments handle data. This powerful blend allows governments to sift through vast data sets, extract crucial insights and communicate them clearly to citizens and stakeholders. Governments can ensure that the information they provide is timely, accurate and easily understandable, enhancing transparency and trust.

IDC's Worldwide National Government Predictions for 2025 says, “AI will augment citizen experience journeys. Increasingly, citizens expect to interact with systems through conversational interfaces that recognize their language, accent, and tone of voice. This will require a combination of agents – some may be machine learning models, large language models, or small language models that have multimodal capabilities to process text, rules, and images – that will be orchestrated to deliver intended outcomes across end-to-end workflows. As agencies look to apply AI to new use cases, they will have to make available quality data for training and inferencing.”

A citizen-first approach to emerging tech
Governments want to meet citizen expectations, and technologies like chatbots, digital assistants and digital IDs are the future. But they’re not going to rush into them just for speed and ease. Policies, practices and governance must be in place. By taking a cautious approach, governments can mitigate data privacy risks, minimize biases, provide a secure interaction and maximize the benefits of new technology.

What else are we predicting for 2025? Check it out.

Jennifer Robinson is Global Government Strategic Advisor at SAS.