Dive Brief:
- Government use of artificial intelligence is on the rise, with 43% of public sector employees reporting using the technology “at least a few times a year” in the fourth quarter of 2025, up from 17% in the second quarter of 2023, according to Gallup. Public sector staff who use AI daily or multiple times a week was at 21%, up from 10% in 2023.
- Among public sector employees, 37% said their organization has a clear AI strategy.
- “During the past two years, federal and state workers have rapidly incorporated AI tools into their daily work, closing what many had assumed was a wide technology gap,” the Gallup report, published March 11, said. “Government institutions are not standing still — they are learning, adapting and increasingly taking part in the technological future.”
Dive Insight:
While several surveys have found public sector interest in AI is high, some have also reported that readiness for the technology is lacking.
AI regulation is in a state of flux, as the Trump administration explores preempting state and local AI laws in favor of a national strategy that removes “barriers to innovation” and accelerates deployment.
As a result, when it comes to AI adoption, “it’s the Wild West right now,” said Danielle Mouw, a procurement analyst with the General Services Administration, during an ethical AI panel earlier this year.
Yet many local governments are embracing the technology for efficiency. Multiple cities are incorporating AI to streamline their permitting processes. San José, California, this year reported increasing transit bus speeds 20% after adding AI traffic signaling.
“What we really need to understand is that AI provides us the opportunity to do more with less,” Philadelphia CIO Melissa Scott said during a National League of Cities panel last year.
