Dive Brief:
- Public-sector adoption of Wordly, an AI-powered translation service, has saved taxpayers more than $30 million since its 2019 launch, the company announced Thursday.
- Adoption of its service by states, local governments and schools has increased fivefold over the past two years, Wordly said. It credits the surge to growing multilingual communities and shrinking public sector budgets.
- San José, California, reduced its annual translation costs from $400,000 to $82,000 — nearly 80% — after contracting with Wordly to provide the service in real time at public meetings, according to a presentation San José City Clerk Toni Taber made last year.
Dive Insight:
Many local governments are exploring AI tools for efficiency and potential cost savings.
Government agencies could save up to 35% of budget costs over the next decade by incorporating AI into areas like case processing, a Boston Consulting Group report last year estimated.
Localities are exploring the use of AI to reduce permitting times, and some are reporting increased efficiency. Honolulu reduced its turnaround time for residential plan permitting by 70% after incorporating an AI review software from CivCheck, according to that company.
In addition to saving money, San José has seen participation at city meetings increase since it incorporated the real-time translations, according to Taber. The AI service offers 60 languages. It also reduces the stress on staff to find a replacement interpreter when meetings extend beyond what was scheduled, she said.
