Report: cross-agency survey of use cases for artificial intelligence (AI)
Survey process
The Government Chief Digital Officer (GCDO) sent out the survey in to a wider range of organisations than in previous years.
This year, 70 agencies reported 272 AI use cases:
- 207 AI use cases reported by 44 public service organisations
- 65 AI use cases reported by 26 wider public sector organisations.
For the first time, AI tools were used to support data analysis and validate the results of the survey.
Current and planned government use of AI
Increase in agencies and AI use cases
In , there was a marked increase in the number of:
- responding agencies
- use cases provided
- use cases each organisation reported on average.
Deployed or operational AI use cases
55 AI use cases were reported as being deployed and in operational use. This is an increase from the 15 operational use cases reported in . This indicates increasing momentum as agencies embed AI tools into daily operations.
Areas AI technologies are being used
Most AI cases reported in involve modernising IT tools and systems to automate processes and improve services. Generative AI, Natural Language Processing, Computer Vision and other AI technologies are being used in areas such as:
- assisted search: using AI-enhanced search to retrieve relevant information from large document sets or databases using natural language.
- digital detection and analysis: using AI to recognise patterns, detect anomalies, forecast or run diagnostics.
- workflow automation: using AI to help automate repetitive tasks or processes. This results in improved speed, accuracy and efficiency.
- data summary and analysis: using AI to help identify trends, generate insights or aggregate results from large amounts of data.
What the survey results indicate
- AI uptake is increasing: The number of use cases reported is increasing. Generative AI continues to the most common type of AI used, but other forms of AI including Natural Language Processes (NLP) and Agentic AI are seeing increasing adoption. We are also seeing an increase in organisations adapting AI tools and reusing solutions rather than building new AI or deploying from scratch.
- The AI ecosystem is growing: Different AI tools and suppliers are being used across organisations. Different suppliers bring a growing diversity of AI tools. There is also growth of government agencies partnering to share and grow AI capability.
- More AI use cases are moving to the operate and use stage: Out of the use cases provided, 55 use cases are reported to now be fully deployed and in the operate stage of the AI life cycle. Of the use cases provided, most are for supporting functions including data, administration, communications and strategy. There is a small percentage of AI use cases yet for direct customer-facing service delivery.
- AI adoption is showing increases in productivity and efficiency: Organisations are adopting AI primarily to support operational productivity and efficiency. By streamlining routine tasks, errors are reduced, and employees can focus on more meaningful work.
- Technological barriers to AI adoption and use are starting to shift: Lack of skills and capability, funding, and security concerns remain key barriers for agencies considering adopting AI. This year’s survey showed that technological barriers to AI adoption are decreasing.
Benefits of government AI adoption
Surveyed agencies and public sector organisations reported a range of benefits, including:
- operational efficiency: streamlining to reduce the time spent on routine tasks and reducing the likelihood of errors
- improved employee experience: by automating repetitive tasks, employees can focus on new or more complex work
- improved service quality: supporting the delivery of more consistent, high quality and responsive service to customers, and a reduced number of complaints.
By providing clear guidance and guardrails, staff can use and become comfortable with using AI technology to improve processes run by their organisations.
Barriers to government AI adoption
Responding organisations reported that the main barriers they see to adopting AI tools include:
- lack of skills and capability
- anticipated costs to adopting new AI tools
- security
- privacy.
Skills and security concerns were also noted as barriers in previous surveys.
Technological barriers shifted from being the 5th-ranked barrier in to the 8th-ranked most reported barrier in .
Next steps for the GCDO and public service
The GCDO continues to work across the public service to support agencies and organisations with:
- AI adoption
- building AI capability
- sharing knowledge and examples of their AI use.
Examples of the GCDO’s support
Responsible AI Guidance for the Public Service: GenAI
Guidance to support the New Zealand Public Service to explore GenAI systems in ways that are safe, transparent and responsible.
Responsible AI Guidance for the Public Service: GenAI
Public Service AI Foundational Development Programme
This programme explores what is needed to enable AI in practice, including:
- change management
- user-centred design
- the trade-offs between customising or acquiring AI tools.
Learners are supported to complete an AI enablement use case, based on a scenario that is relevant to their own agency.
This training is available for participating agencies. If you are interested, please contact GCDO@dia.govt.nz.
More information and data
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