The practical path to AI modernization in state and local government

Governors and state technology leaders nationwide view artificial intelligence as a top strategic imperative. The National Governors Association (NGA) sees  AI as a key enabler of critical infrastructure, economic development, and responsive citizen services. The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) agrees, ranking AI as its number one policy and technology priority for the first time, ending cybersecurity’s 12-year run atop the list. 

While ambition for innovation and determination to accelerate service delivery is high, government  agencies face operational friction to connect data and deploy these technologies within complex, real-world environments.

Overcoming legacy constraints

Public sector services that rely on fragmented systems were built program-by-program over several decades. These legacy constraints frequently result in disjointed experiences for both staff and residents.

• Data silos: Information that could assist caseworkers often resides in separate repositories managed by different agencies, hindering holistic service delivery.
• Manual bottlenecks: Staff often manage high-volume routine tasks manually, detracting from complex cases requiring human judgment.
• Resident friction: Residents frequently submit the same documents multiple times across different offices due to a lack of interoperability.

Moving beyond limitations like these requires an integrated AI stack where components work together seamlessly, ensuring velocity, precision, and security at scale.

Establishing frameworks for responsible AI

Across the United States, state governments are establishing standards to govern and deploy artificial intelligence. These proactive frameworks prioritize safety, equity, and accountability. By establishing clear legislative guardrails and governance structures—such as anti-discrimination protections, privacy acts, and human-centered design mandates—states are ensuring that AI deployments are explainable, secure, and aligned with the public interest. Collectively, these efforts build a strong foundation of trust, enabling innovation that remains protective and responsive to the people it serves.

In California, Executive Order N-5-26 sets a vision for human-centered services and unwavering safety standards, requiring secure and scalable systems to translate policy into trusted resident services. In Illinois, recent updates to the state’s Human Rights Act have followed earlier mandates like the AI Video Interview Act and the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) in establishing guardrails for AI, ensuring explainable and equitable deployment. And in Texas, the Responsible AI Governance Act, or TRAIGA, sets a foundation for non-discriminatory and accountable AI, ensuring the technology remains protective of the people it touches.

AI-enabled modernization for practical citizen impact

States with established frameworks are leveraging AI and connecting their existing data to reimagine workflows to accelerate service delivery. Covered California, for example, applied AI to its benefits verification workflow, turning weeks of manual eligibility review into near-instant verification for state residents’ health insurance enrollment. In New York, the state’s Digital and Information Technology (DIGIT) office is using AI to transform 311 interactions and benefits and eligibility verification. And in Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth Office of Digital Experience (CODE PA) consolidated 60-plus agency websites into one platform with a directory of more than 1,000 state services, providing residents with better permitting, grants, and benefits access.

The shift to agentic AI and integrated systems

Practical AI adoption is moving from isolated automation toward agentic AI, where intelligent systems analyze data sources and complete multi-step processes with human-led direction overseeing intelligent automation. Google’s inaugural ROI of AI in the public sector report found that agency leaders view agentic AI as a mission-critical investment, with more than 60% saying their organizations plan to allocate 50% or greater of their AI budgets to agents.

But it’s integrated AI platforms like Google Cloud’s that allow agencies to move from task-level efficiency to end-to-end service delivery. With a technical foundation that’s optimized for AI, state governments can quickly scale and deploy agentic AI into daily workflows for complex tasks. For example, Wisconsin’s Department of Workforce Development utilized an AI agent workflow to augment staff and help address a backlog of 770,000 claims. They cleared the backlog in a matter of weeks while simultaneously reducing fraud.

Security as the foundation

As agencies embed AI into mission-critical operations, governance remains the primary trust layer. The use of AI by governments requires built-in safeguards, security, and transparency. Agentic security operations deliver autonomous, zero-trust protection that helps secure the entire AI lifecycle from code to cloud. This extends proactive threat detection and response to AI deployments, applying the same standards agencies expect across every other critical system. Solutions such as Google AI Threat Defense and Mandiant Cybersecurity Consulting  help agencies monitor, secure, and respond to threats across both traditional infrastructure and emerging AI systems.

From policy to practice

State, city, and county governments stand at a pivotal moment where AI must shift from chatbots and pilots to an integral workforce capability delivering timely and critical insights. By breaking down legacy data silos, embracing secure agentic AI, and committing to responsible frameworks, state and local agencies can modernize their technology and fundamentally transform how they serve their communities. 

Google Public Sector’s secure, integrated AI stack provides the comprehensive foundation needed to remove operational friction and deliver responsive, transparent, and equitable government services. Now is the time to build an agency of the future that not only meets resident expectations, but anticipates and exceeds them.

Learn more about how Google Public Sector can help your agency scale practical AI adoption.