We kicked off our Automation and AI for Revenues and Benefits 2004 series with a fantastic talk on automation by GovTech’s Graeme Maychell and Malcolm Gardner from Visionary Network’s Co-Pilots team, with Kevin Stewart hosting the session.
Graeme shared how automation can help councils manage their resources better, save money, and get things done faster, which is crucial when budgets are tight. GovTech has been a leader in this field for many years, and it’s clear by the recent increase in the take-up of Gov-tech services that more councils are starting to see the value in these technologies, especially as they need to be more careful with their spending.
Malcolm delved into how generative AI, like Co-Pilots, can be a game-changer for research and writing documents in the Revenues and Benefits sector. He emphasised that while these tools are helpful, they’re not a substitute for human intelligence or creativity. To really benefit from them, it’s important to know how to ask the right questions and guide the AI outputs to be based on industry specific and local information.
Stephen Turner from Cambridge Council brought some important points to the table. He highlighted how tools like Microsoft’s Co-Pilot can accidentally include confidential information in your documents since they access all the data in your SharePoint, including emails and other sensitive documents. He also shared some of the commendable initiatives Cambridge Council is working on.
This discussion was a reminder that while there’s a rush to adopt industry-specific AI tools, it might be wiser for councils to focus on customising these tools themselves and training their teams on how to use them effectively. This is particularly important as councils consider how to integrate these AI tools into their existing document management systems and broader automation strategies, similar to what GovTech does.
The presentation included some practical examples of using Co-Pilots.
Looking forward, our next session at the end of February will explore how AI can help manage applications, allocate resources more effectively, and improve interactions with citizens.