Why Government Needs a Smarter AI Strategy: From Pilots to Progress

Across the UK, government bodies are rolling out AI tools with clear and practical benefits. These include faster processing of planning applications, improved transcription and documentation from meetings, and time-saving drafting assistance for civil servants. Examples include the Extract tool developed with DeepMind, the Humphrey suite (including Minute), Microsoft Copilot pilots, and Somerset’s use of AI in special needs assessments.

However, while the progress is encouraging, there is an increasing risk of fragmentation, with each of the examples detailed above using a different provider and technology stack.

While these are all trials, and trials should consider a range of vendors, there is a clear risk here. Without a central strategy, a landscape of incompatible systems, vendor lock-in and duplicated investments could quickly emerge in an already siloed and cash strapped industry. Local government is regularly noted as having inconsistent technology landscapes and inconsistent digital maturity, and there is a litany of examples of delayed or failed software implementations.

A smarter and more strategic approach should include:

• A coherent national AI roadmap that bridges central and local authority needs, avoiding duplication and ensuring consistency.
  

• Procurement frameworks that reduce dependency on individual vendors and support more sustainable, open architectures.
  

• Cross-government coordination between initiatives, to support shared services, reuse of capability, and shared governance.
  

• Ethical and security guardrails that are embedded from the start, rather than retrofitted once tools are in active use.

At Darter, we work with public sector partners to design strategies that connect technology adoption with practical implementation, ensuring capability-building, public trust, and lasting value are built into every stage.

AI’s potential in public service is significant but it risks becoming another tool that delivers limited success and prevents real, wide-scale transformation.