Resources
Keep learning at your own pace.
Start with the question you have today. Every guide answers one real question from local government staff, and points you to the next one.
Learning pathways
Choose your path.
Three ways in, depending on where your organization is today. You can start anywhere and move between them.
Where is your organization with AI today?
Pick the answer that fits, and we’ll lay out where to start.
Your first 6 questions
Your first 6 questions
Your first 5 questions
Draft Every question links to a first-release draft post. Copy still needs review.
Blog
Answers to the questions we hear most.
Written for clerks, department leads, managers, and IT. Each post answers one question in plain language.
- Why would a local government use AI? Every department has a job of its own that AI can take the first pass at. Here’s what local government staff actually ask for. →
- What should staff never put into a public AI tool? Anything you wouldn’t pin to a public noticeboard. Why the front counter needs these rules as much as HR does. →
- Shadow AI, explained A free AI tool, a personal account, a staff report pasted in to save time. Why it happens, what it puts at risk, and why a ban doesn’t fix it. →
- Do we need an AI policy before staff start using AI? You need clear rules before staff start. A one-page starter set, and the gaps reviewers usually find. →
- How do we choose the first job for AI? Pick a job only your team does. A scorecard for candidate jobs, and a solicitation worked start to finish. →
- Where should an AI rollout start? Open access for everyone, then one department at a time. How to pick the first department, and a six-month plan. →
- The questions to ask before choosing an AI tool The questions IT, records, legal, and department leads should ask any AI provider, with GovAI’s own answers alongside. →
- What is an AI work platform for local government? One shared place where staff do their work with AI every day, across every department. What it is and how to tell. →
- How do we turn an AI idea into a real workflow? Write the job as steps and watch the handoffs. A locate request, worked department by department. →
- Where does Microsoft Copilot fit beside GovAI? Most local governments we work with keep Microsoft 365 and add GovAI beside it. Which jobs live where, and what to ask any vendor. →
- How do we test whether an AI Agent is doing the job well? Test it like a new hire: ten real questions, a clear bar, and a look at every miss. Worked through with an HR example. →
- How do we get AI to answer from our own policies? Give AI your approved documents and a few rules. A zoning help desk, worked start to finish. →
- How to keep AI use visible across departments One approved tool, an owner in each department, a shared list, and a regular review. Plus how to plan for records requests. →
Comparisons
See how GovAI compares.
Honest, side-by-side guides for the options local governments weigh most. Same five questions on every page, so you can put them next to each other.
Use cases
Start with one job your team does every week.
Each use case shows the steps, the review point, and the information staff connect.
↓ Click a department or a team to see a few ways staff there use GovAI.
Click any team in the chart to see what staff there ask GovAI to do.
Public Works & Engineering Turn work orders into a council briefing
Pull work order and asset data together into a council-ready briefing on a capital project.
- You bring
- Work order and asset data for the project
- Your council briefing format
- GovAI does
- Reads the work order history and asset details
- Pulls out what council needs to know
- Drafts the briefing in your format
- You get
- A draft capital project briefing, ready for staff to check and send.
How it's set upYour data and briefing format
HR & Administration Answer policy questions from the handbook
Staff ask an HR question in plain words and get the answer from your employee handbook.
- You bring
- Your employee handbook
- Any HR policies that sit outside it
- GovAI does
- Staff ask in their own words
- GovAI looks up the answer in the handbook
- Anything sensitive goes to a person in HR
- You get
- Consistent answers for staff, and fewer repeat questions for HR.
How it's set upYour handbook in GovAI
IT Answer help desk questions from your guides
A help desk chat answers common IT support questions, using your internal guides as the source.
- You bring
- Your internal IT guides and how-to articles
- GovAI does
- Staff ask the help desk chat a question
- It answers from your guides
- Anything it can't answer goes to the IT team
- You get
- Quick answers to everyday questions, so IT can focus on the harder tickets.
How it's set upYour IT guides in GovAI
Procurement Draft an RFx from your templates and policy
Start a request for proposals, quotes or information from your own templates, following your procurement policy.
- You bring
- Your RFx templates
- Your procurement policy
- What you're buying and why
- GovAI does
- Starts from the right template
- Fills in the scope and requirements
- Checks the draft against your policy
- You get
- A first draft RFx your team can review and finish.
How it's set upAn Agent we build with you
Finance Run a transaction audit
Review a large batch of transactions, flag the ones that need a closer look, and draft the audit report.
- You bring
- A transaction export
- Your audit rules and policy
- GovAI does
- Checks each transaction against your rules
- Flags the ones that need a closer look
- Drafts the report for your auditor
- You get
- A draft audit report and a short list of transactions to review.
How it's set upAn Agent we build with you
Community Services Turn survey responses into findings
Read hundreds of open-ended survey responses, pull out the themes, and turn them into a dashboard you can filter.
- You bring
- Your survey responses
- GovAI does
- Reads every response
- Groups them into themes and concerns
- Builds a dashboard you can filter
- You get
- Clear findings for your next program decision, with the responses behind them.
How it's set upYour survey export
Ready to try it on your own work?
See GovAI on a live tour, or talk to a specialist about where your organization could start.