How Is Government Using Artificial Intelligence ?

Overview & Synopsis

Artificial intelligence (AI) has great potential to enhance public services. Yet there is little evidence on how governments are adopting AI, especially in non-high-income economies. This paper provides new cross-economy evidence from the AI and Data for Better Governance Survey, covering 60 economies across all income levels and collecting information from central digital agencies, sectoral ministries, and management information system leads. The paper documents three main findings. First, AI adoption in government is broad but shallow and uneven. Most governments report some use of AI, yet adoption is generally ad hoc and rarely institutionalized. Second, constraints vary with income level. While a lack of data and insufficient budgets are common barriers everywhere, low-income economies more often report a lack of policies, while high-income economies emphasize privacy and ethical concerns. Third, governance frameworks are lagging, with many governments providing access to generative AI tools before establishing formal guidelines. The paper interprets these patterns through an ecosystem framework in which AI’s value depends on complementary investments in data infrastructure, analytical capability, organizational capacity, and governance. It sorts governments into four archetypes defined by how their AI adoption reflects their institutional readiness, including a few “cowboys” whose AI use is running ahead of their institutional scaffolding. The results suggest that AI policy for the public sector should shift from a narrow focus on adoption to a broader agenda of institutional readiness, responsible use, and sector-specific problem solving.