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Generative AI Use Cases for Cities and Public Sector

So far (as of March 2024), most of the traction in Generative AI has been found in chatbots (e.g. ChatGPT) or "co-pilots", most famously the Github Co-Pilot which has crossed $100 million in ARR as of September 2023.

But outside of "co-pilots" on SaaS, the impact of generative AI has been almost imperceivable, especially the case in the public sector (cities, municipalities, etc). This is unfortunate, given that generative AI aligns well with public sector values such as democraticizng access, promoting equality, and streamlining processes.

In this article, I present 10 use cases of generative AI that cities, counties, and governments can implement today, where the technology and the use case have both matured enough to find a product market fit. I will focus on explaining the use case and will leave the technical commentary for a part 2 of this post.

10 Use Cases of Generative AI for Public Sector

311 Chatbot for Citizen Services

Many cities offer a 311 phone service (and a website) to intake public service requests ranging from trivial (removing tree debris after a storm) to serious (reporting an accident).

These hotlines unfortunately suffer from long wait times, unreliable pickups, as well as inconsistent quality of service. In addition, offering English or Spanish only leaves out a sizable multi-lingual portion of the population. Not to mention that call volumes are unpredictable and "spikey" (such as during Covid-19), which makes hiring and training call agents difficult.

Luckily, these are problems that LLMs (large language models) and chatbots (user interface) can solve. Chatbots can answer inquiries 24 / 7 and provide instant answers to common queries related to city services such waste collection schedules, public transport timings, or event information. These AI chatbots can work along side

Business outcome: improve 311 service availability and latency, as well as saving governments money in expenses hiring and training agents.

Permit and License Processing

Government agencies issue various permits and licenses, from building permits to business licenses. Much of the frustration comes from long processing delays, which often come from preventable causes such as missing information and miscommunication.

Luckily, LLMs are great at extracting information from unstructured data such as forms. Thus, document delays due to missing information can be prevented almost entirely, especially when document reviews are done with humans in the loop.

Business outcome: faster document processing times for citizens, and more streamlined / digitized permit processing workflows for governments.

E-Filing State and Local Taxes

Similar to permit processing, local revenue offices (tax) often struggle with influx of tax return processing volumes during the peak months of April. In addition, revenue offices often struggle to catch fraud or mistakes quickly, leading to missed tax revenue and costly audits.

Using OCR and LLMs, revenue offices can streamline processing and auditing of tax filings.

Business outcome: faster tax return processing, and quicker and more accurate detection of tax fraud, leading to even automated tax audits.

Public Record Management

Managing public records, including birth certificates, marriage licenses, and property deeds, is a significant public service category.

AI can help digitize, categorize, and manage these records, making them more accessible and searchable for public and administrative use.

Business outcome: citizens can get their documents quicker, and governments can manage and vend the documents in a more secure and cost effective manner.

Claims and Benefits Processing

Agencies struggling with high volumes of requests for social welfare, unemployment benefits, or insurance claims. With the elasticity of AI services, agencies can automate claims and applications processing. This speeds up decision-making, ensures consistency in the evaluation process, and improves the overall efficiency of service delivery.

Business outcome: citizens are able to access their funds quicker, and governments can detect and triage fraud faster and more accurately.

Regulatory Compliance and Monitoring

Government bodies need to monitor compliance with various regulations and standards.

AI-driven document processing can automatically review and analyze reports, audits, and compliance documents, flagging issues and ensuring that standards are met across different sectors.

Business outcome: easier, faster, and more accurate detection of fraud and noncompliance espescially in the real estate sector.

Legal Document Analysis for Legislators

In the legal domain, analyzing contracts, case files, and legislative documents is crucial.

AI can support public sector legislators by extracting relevant information, identifying patterns, and summarizing content, thereby aiding in legal research and decision-making.

Business outcome: easier and more accurate legal understanding for the legislators, leading to more fair and faster processing of cases.

Health Records and Medical Documentation

In public healthcare, processing patient records, treatment histories, and medical research documents efficiently is vital. AI can assist in organizing and analyzing this data, enhancing patient care, and supporting medical research.

Business outcome: increase access to public health information in multiple languages (beyond English and Spanish), leading to better coverage and health outcomes.

Educational Records and Administration

For educational institutions in the public sector, managing student records, grading systems, and administrative documents is a key use case. AI can help automate these processes, from enrollment through to graduation, ensuring data accuracy and freeing up time for educators to focus on teaching.

Business outcome: reduced paperwork and increased access to educational opportunities for citizens.

Procurement and Contract Management

Automating the processing of procurement documents, including tenders, bids, contracts, and invoices, can lead to more efficient and transparent procurement processes, ensuring public funds are used effectively.

Business outcome: more transparency and quality among the suppliers to governments, leading to lower costs.

Solution Template

The typical solution blueprint for the use cases above involve the following components of Generative AI:

• Automated Document Analysis: Once OCR extracts the data, generative AI can analyze the content, interpreting and understanding the context of the application. For example, it can assess if the application meets certain criteria or if additional information is required.

• Decision Support: Generative AI can provide preliminary recommendations based on the extracted data, aiding human decision-makers in evaluating the applications more efficiently and consistently.

• Response Generation: Automatically generate communication with applicants, such as requests for additional information, approval notifications, or instructions for the next steps, streamlining the communication process.

• Speed and Accuracy: Combining OCR and generative AI accelerates the processing of permits by automating routine tasks, reducing manual data entry, and minimizing errors, leading to a faster and more accurate process.

• Prioritization and Allocation: AI can prioritize applications based on criteria like complexity, urgency, or compliance with regulations, ensuring that human effort is focused where it is most needed and improving overall workflow efficiency.

• Continuous Learning and Improvement: AI systems can learn from each interaction and decision, improving their accuracy and efficiency over time, and adapting to changes in regulatory or business requirements.

Next Steps

Our core offering is a SaaS platform designed to integrate seamlessly into city operations, providing continuous value through advanced AI capabilities and data-driven insights. We focus on scalable solutions where we maintain the intellectual property, ensuring ongoing innovation and support for our clients.

While we primarily offer SaaS, we understand the importance of tailored solutions in the public sector. Therefore, we're open to collaborating with cities as launch partners to co-develop MVPs (Minimum Viable Products). This approach allows us to align our technology with your specific needs, ensuring that the solution not only addresses your challenges but also sets the stage for a broader SaaS deployment. As a launch partner, you benefit from early access to cutting-edge technology and have the opportunity to shape the product's development, while we retain the IP, guaranteeing a product that’s continually evolving and improving.