Councils turn to artificial intelligence to achieve UK£195mn savings - The EE

Councils in the UK expect to save over £195million (€221 million) in 2020 by introducing artificial intelligence technology techniques, according to a national survey of local authorities. Financial savings, faster resolution of enquiries, freeing up staff to focus on citizen engagement and more accurate processing are the four key reasons behind the trend, revealed in a survey of unitary, borough, county and district councils carried out by local government AI and chatbot specialists Agile Datum . Councils each expect to save an average of £300,000 (€340926) in the next 12 months through greater use of artificial intelligence and another £180,000 ( €204556), on average, through the deployment of self-learning chatbots. One in six councils are anticipating savings between £750,000 (€85231 million) and £1m (1.1 million) just around the introduction of artificial intelligence technology. In all, it amounts to savings of £195m (€221 million) across unitary, borough, district and county councils in the UK.