Where AI tends to help first
- Drafting replies to routine enquiries for an officer to check.
- Summarising long documents, consultation responses or committee papers.
- Preparing first drafts of reports from approved templates and data.
- Searching internal policy and guidance for staff.
The controls to put in place
- A short AI usage policy for staff: approved tools, and what must never go into a prompt.
- A register of AI tools in use, with an owner, the data each can see and where it is processed.
- A data protection impact assessment for any use involving resident data. See the ICO guidance on AI and data protection.
- A named officer reviewing anything that reaches a resident or informs a decision.
- A decision on publishing tool details, using the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard as a model.
Councils in Wales
Welsh councils advertise on Sell2Wales and work within Welsh Government policy as well as UK law. Any resident-facing AI output must meet the council's Welsh language duties, so check how a tool handles Welsh before it is used for correspondence.
Procurement routes
- Find a Tender. The UK central platform for public procurement notices under the Procurement Act 2023. find-tender.service.gov.uk.
- Sell2Wales. Where public bodies in Wales advertise contracts. sell2wales.gov.wales.
- Contracts Finder. Lower-value public contracts in England. gov.uk/contracts-finder.
- G-Cloud. The Government Commercial Agency framework for cloud software, hosting and support. G-Cloud 15 runs from August 2026 to February 2028. G-Cloud 15.
- Below threshold. Many public bodies can buy smaller, fixed-price pieces of work, such as a one-day review, under their own procurement rules. Check with your procurement team first.
How to start, and what it costs
- Free AI Readiness Audit. 15 questions, about 5 minutes, including AI governance. Take the audit.
- AI and Copilot Discovery Day. One day with a consultant, £950 + VAT, fixed. For a public body this is where we classify your data, map where each AI tool processes it and agree the rules. See what is included.
- Implementation. Value based, scoped and quoted after the Discovery Day.
When we are not the right fit
If you are replacing a whole case management system, the system supplier should lead. We help councils get value from AI in the systems they already run, set up governance and train staff. Back to sovereign AI for UK organisations.
Questions we are often asked
Can councils use Microsoft Copilot?
Many are trialling it. Check SharePoint and Teams permissions first, because Copilot can surface anything a member of staff already has access to.
Does AI-drafted correspondence need checking?
Yes. A named officer should review anything that reaches a resident, and the council remains responsible for it.
Can AI handle Welsh language correspondence?
Quality varies by tool and by task. Test with real examples and keep a Welsh-speaking reviewer for anything sent to residents.