In pursuit of seamless service: how AI is revolutionising citizen-government interactions
Satisfaction with online government services lags behind those offered by the private sector by quite some margin. But as Jennifer Robinson, global strategic advisor for SAS’ public sector practice, writes, artificial intelligence can help close the gap
What if interacting with government services were as seamless and swift as ordering your favourite book online? You log in to a sleek, intuitive portal and within seconds, you’re greeted with personalised recommendations tailored to your needs.
What a great experience! I got what I wanted with very little effort. Convenience we’ve come to expect from our private sector customer experiences has forever changed our service expectations – no matter who we’re interacting with. Many areas of the private sector have made strides in providing exceptional customer experiences, putting in sharp contrast that government seems to be 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 is 21% behind those offered by the private sector. What’s clear? The citizen-consumer expects reliable, transparent, easy and accurate interactions.
Chatbots, digital assistants, and digital IDs
You might wonder why, given the technologies available to all organisations – 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 good news: there is mounting evidence that governments are exploring AI and GenAI, including chatbots, digital assistants and digital IDs, to support citizen interactions.
Chatbots are becoming more common in the public sector, and their automated, instant responses are good examples of win-win situations. Citizens feel supported and get the information they need, while agencies often find it helps them use their resources wisely, thus improving productivity.
While chatbots are great for straightforward interactions, what’s next? Digital assistants, of course. This technology is becoming pervasive on devices – from our phones and smartwatches – because it can understand more complex queries and tasks. It can perform a wide range of functions, from scheduling appointments to providing personalised recommendations. In the coming years, we will see more governments deploying digital assistants.
We will also see rollouts of digital ID. The citizen-consumer 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 identification is available. Many governments are moving toward digital IDs, giving citizens convenient access to government services.
Of the top 50 nations by 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 modernising government services, making them more accessible and secure for citizens.
Clean data, trustworthy analytics, and secure environments
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%.
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, 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 revolutionise how governments handle data. This powerful blend allows governments to sift through vast datasets, 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 recognise 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.”
We know that governments want to meet citizen expectations, and technologies like chatbots, digital assistants and digital IDs are the future. But one should not 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, minimise biases, provide a secure interaction and maximise the benefits of new technology.
For more thoughtful insights about public sector strategy and innovation from Jennifer and her peers at SAS, please visit the Public Sector Trends hub.
This article was originally published on the SAS Voices blog and is repurposed here with permission from SAS.
About the author
Jennifer Robinson
Jennifer is global strategic advisor, SAS public sector, working to help governments maximise the use of their data through data integration, data management, and analytics. Jennifer has a background in software development and local government. She co-wrote the book A Practical Guide to Analytics for Government and is featured in the book Smart Cities, Smart Future. In addition to writing articles and blogs about data-driven governing, she speaks to government leaders about emerging technologies and how to strategically adopt them.
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