AI becoming ‘another co‑worker’ in city halls

A Scottish council has avoided an estimated US$1.6 million in extra staffing costs by using artificial intelligence to cut paperwork in social services–one of several case studies shared in a CivStart webinar showcasing how cities are adopting AI to manage budgets and preserve institutional knowledge.

The session, hosted by Nick Lyle, Chief Impact Officer at CivStart, featured the winners of the 2025 State of GovTech pitch event–Magic Notes, Chief AI and Madison AI–alongside local government officials piloting their tools.

Freeing time in social services

Dumfries and Galloway Council in Scotland has been testing Magic Notes by Beam to ease administrative pressure on social workers.

“I had some significant issues about staff who were overworked and really struggling to get the bureaucratic element of the job done, the admin done,” said Steven Morgan, Director of Social Work. “I looked at putting people into those positions, and it was going to cost me about $1.6 million. Then I got a show and tell of Magic Notes by Beam, and it absolutely blew me away in terms of the simplicity and the impact it can have.”

The system generates high‑quality, compliant reports in seconds, allowing staff to focus on direct support.

“What we’ve noticed locally is we give staff back time to do better quality social work, make better relationships with people, spend more time finding person‑centred solutions,” Morgan said. “We’re starting to see better outcomes for people, and I’m confident after a year’s usage we’ll actually have the data and the evidence to show that.”

Initial resistance centred on security and policy concerns around sensitive information. Morgan explained: “People were just sceptical to use a tool… they were worried about the cyber security elements, because when it’s social work it’s really sensitive information. So I got my head of IT and our information technology teams to come along and do the demo, so they could see the value of the tool not only in a social work perspective, but across local governments.”

Managing mayoral offices

In Denver (pictured), the mayor’s office has been piloting Chief AI to streamline operations that were previously handled manually.

“In every one of those roles, I struggled with so many issues that Chief helped solve. There just is no modern software, no software really at all, to manage the operations of a government office,” said Mary Bowman, Senior Advisor, Mayor’s Office. “Chief is doing that, from scheduling to briefing materials to the management of relationships. I never could have imagined a product like this, and so to have piloted this product in the City and County of Denver for the last year has been a real game changer.”

Bowman added that the pilot has drawn strong interest across city government: “We are piloting in the mayor’s office itself right now, but so many different folks from across government have approached me and are eager to figure out how they can use AI or use Chief AI as well.”

Supporting small municipal teams

Los Altos Hills, California, with just 20 administrative staff, has adopted Madison AI to manage continuity and knowledge retention.

“We were also being hit with the double whammy of the silver tsunami and the great resignation,” said Cody Einfalt, Deputy City Manager. “So lots of turnover with our staff, loss of that institutional knowledge, and still trying to operate and write our staff reports, get research done and analyse different projects that are on the city council’s work plan. Madison AI became like another co‑worker that’s been there for many years.”

The platform serves as a searchable database of minutes, reports and council actions.

“Every staff report that goes to the city council has a background section trying to list all the things that have happened for that project to get to where it was. Instead of having to go back and read through minutes or talk to the clerk, there’s this knowledge database of Madison AI where you could go and essentially treat it like another co‑worker,” Einfalt said.

It has also been used for more practical tasks. “Whenever we have a ribbon‑cutting ceremony or a mayoral speech, I could prompt it and say, I need a quick speech that’s fun and light that will kick off an event, and it’s just been a huge time saver,” he added.

To build trust, Los Altos Hills adopted an AI use policy from the start. “We went out and actually educated our council, we educated our staff, and we said, this is something that we could experiment with… and this is going to help us implement our projects,” Einfalt said.

Recommendations for peers

From government officials:

• Be brave in testing new tools, said Morgan: “Try the product, test out its safety by asking the technical guys to do that, and then look at piloting.”
• Pilot first to measure impact on staff and residents before committing long‑term.
• Engage IT and procurement teams early to address compliance and security.
• Create AI use policies to build community and staff trust, as Los Altos Hills did.
• Expect cultural change: staff may revert to old ways unless prompted to use new tools.

From start-up founders:

• Pilot programmes are “two‑way doors” – cities should feel free to test and walk away if tools don’t fit.
• Demand strong security and compliance, including data retention and open records policies.
• Insist on government‑specific solutions, not generic AI tools, to meet public sector standards.
• Co‑create with vendors: start-ups stressed their willingness to adapt products to municipal needs.
• Keep humans in the loop to ensure outputs are accurate, trusted and legally compliant.

Image: F11photo | Dreamstime.com