Government agencies often struggle with a myriad of repetitive and time-consuming tasks, mountains of data that need to be managed, and inefficient processes that can drain resources and hinder productivity.
Meanwhile, citizens are often looking for more transparency from governments about the work they do; a more efficient way of engaging; and easier ways to access public services without getting lost in a maze of online forms, processes and confusing websites.
Autonomous decision-making is here to help
The good news is that artificial intelligence (AI) can be a powerful force in helping government organisations make decisions, improve services and get work done. And we’re starting to see how AI agents, in particular, are being used by governments to analyse vast datasets at incredible speeds, provide public sector bodies with insights they can put to work immediately, automate hundreds of processes, and enhance the services offered to citizens.
What we see coming next are multi-agent systems composed of multiple interacting intelligent agents, and a new approach called Agentic AI where systems will be able to augment human work further by understanding and interpreting complex information and goals and then take actions based on continuous learning and analysis of extensive datasets.
The Agentic AI approach is particularly well suited to addressing the needs of public sector organisations in the following three ways:
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1. Improved efficiency
Think of an AI multi-agent system as your team of expert co-workers, available 24x7, with the knowledge you need to collaborate on complex tasks.
Decisions are made in the context of specific use cases. Patterns and trends that traditional methods may have missed are identified, and complex workflows are adjusted in real-time as circumstances evolve. This allows human workers to focus on higher-value tasks, representing a significant shift towards augmenting workers with intelligence tailored to their roles.
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Agentic AI can improve efficiency for public sector workers in the following ways:
- Knowledge retrieval agent: Retrieves relevant information from a data source of tax regulations, policies and procedures to provide real-time answers to agents' queries.
- Sentiment analysis agent: Monitors the tone and sentiment of the caller in real-time, alerting the human agent if the caller is becoming frustrated or upset, and suggesting appropriate responses to de-escalate the situation.
- Follow-up agent: Schedules and manages follow-up actions, such as sending emails or scheduling callbacks, ensuring that no task is overlooked.
This has proven to be quite a boon for Singapore in public healthcare. Singapore General Hospital (SGH) leveraged AI and automation to combat the issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). By using machine learning and deep learning algorithms, SGH was able to accurately predict and analyse AMR data, helping to guide more precise treatment strategies. This not only enhances the accuracy of AMR interventions but also significantly expedites the entire process, minimising the need for specialist input, and making the overall healthcare process more efficient.
2. Improved government outcomes
With careful implementation, the multi-agent approach has the potential to deliver transformative outcomes that go beyond improvements in efficiency and engagement methods to include:
- Faster decision making: Examples include determining eligibility for grants, allowances, or support services and potentially for tax breaks.
- Improved data interpretation: Agents can be used to improve fraud detection, resulting in increased revenues to spend on public services, among other examples.
- Data-driven insights: Agentic AI can process and analyse large volumes of data to provide actionable insights for policymakers and service providers. This can lead to more informed decisions and a better allocation of resources.
3. Better citizen experiences
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Beyond the ability to increase capacity, Agentic AI has the potential to improve experiences offered to citizens in multiple ways:
- Personalisation: Agentic AI can gather and analyse individual citizen data to provide personalised recommendations for services or benefits, ensuring that citizens receive the information most relevant to them.
- Customised communications: AI can adapt communication styles and language based on citizen preferences, making interactions more user-friendly and accessible.
- Early intervention: AI can identify patterns that indicate potential issues for citizens (e.g., financial distress, health risks) and alert relevant authorities to intervene early.
- Improved access to services: By simplifying interfaces and providing contextual understanding, Agentic AI opens the door to improving access and use of the data sources available across multiple government departments.
A notable example is Pair Search in Singapore, an AI-powered search engine designed to enhance public access to decades of parliamentary records. This tool not only facilitates a deeper understanding of how issues evolve within Singapore's top law-making body but also enables users to navigate case judgments from the High Court and Court of Appeal, all powered by an LLM. Having access to such records can enhance the transparency of the government – a cornerstone for fostering greater public trust in the citizens.
The big picture
As with most industries, AI has the potential to massively transform the public sector, and we have seen this happen not just in Asia Pacific but across the globe. The Brussels Tax Department employed AI agents to streamline and simplify their entire tax administration process, leading to freed-up capacity to introduce new services and improved user experience.
In Italy, the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage employed an AI agent – Alphy, to make decades of bibliographic information more accessible to researchers, academics, students, and the general public.
This transformation not only enhances internal operations for public sector organizations but also ensures that citizens receive quicker access to essential services such as grants, visas, and government assistance, making processes more efficient and user-friendly.
As AI continues to advance at a rapid pace, the public sector has a distinct opportunity to leverage its capabilities to develop smarter, more responsive, and inclusive systems that better address wider societal needs.
Alexander Ratkovsky is the managing director of Emerging Industries & Technologies for Asia Pacific, Japan, Middle East and Africa at DXC Technology
