More and more UK councils are seeing real examples of how AI can improve their work. Generative AI is already helping local governments modernise services, improve decision-making, and deliver better results with limited resources. In this article, we look at the top 10 AI use cases for UK local government that can provide real impact, from cutting costs to helping residents faster and more efficiently.
The potential of generative AI for the public sector is huge. The UK Government estimates that using AI to automate routine tasks in the public sector could be “worth billions.” They have also created an action plan to increase the adoption of AI solutions for UK government organisations to support economic growth, create new jobs, and improve everyday life for people.
Many government organisations, including local councils, are already using AI. There are many successful AI projects in the UK local government.
Richmond and Wandsworth Councils, for example, partnered with Tovie AI on a project that delivered strong results for the Adult Social Care team. They used Tovie AI’s voice solution to automate outbound calls to residents.
The project focused on two occupational therapy use cases:
- An AI assistant contacted residents on occupational therapy waiting lists, giving updates on their application status and gathering information about their current needs.
- AI also followed up with residents who had received care tech devices from the council. It checked if the devices were still in use, identified any issues, and arranged collection for unused items.
The two pilot use cases showed success rates of 74% and 77% in call engagements with residents, proving the approach worked. Scaling the outbound voice use cases to production is expected to save around 21,000 minutes of staff time per month — time previously spent making manual calls.
Following this success, Richmond and Wandsworth Councils are now working with Tovie AI to launch a chatbot that will provide better support for unpaid carers.
Outbound voice campaigns are a regular task for any council. Local government teams often spend hours making routine calls, whether to manage waiting lists, share updates, run polls, or send alerts. These calls are usually time-consuming and repetitive.
An AI voice assistant offers a faster, more efficient solution. It can handle hundreds of calls in just minutes, saving staff hours or even days of manual work. Since manual calls can take up to 20 minutes each, the time saved by AI is significant.
With automated phone calls, councils can reach residents, including vulnerable and older people, using their preferred way of communication. Generative AI-powered voice bots support clear, natural conversations, handle interruptions, and understand different accents.
Councils often manage long waiting lists, especially for services like occupational therapy and other adult social care use cases. These include booking appointments, confirming or rescheduling them, checking in with residents, and gathering more information.
An AI assistant can make automated calls to residents, having natural, smooth conversations to gather needed details, summarise responses, and pass on any required actions to council staff.
One strong use case is mental health wait list management. AI voice calls can proactively check in with residents flagged for mental health support, helping assess wellbeing, collect feedback, and flag urgent issues. These regular check-ins can be done in a way that feels human and empathetic. If needed, the call can switch to a human agent to ensure proper care and follow-up.
The UK government is replacing the analogue telephone network with a digital one. This switchover will affect telecare services, monitored alarms, and any other equipment connected to the public phone network.
All providers must complete the change by January 2027, and local councils are responsible for informing residents. However, with limited time and resources, this has become a significant challenge. Around 2 million people in the UK use telecare services, and each council may need to contact thousands of residents.
AI can help ease this workload. An AI assistant can call residents to:
- Explain the switchover and why it matters
- Confirm whether the telecare system is still needed
- Schedule an appointment if a replacement is required
Voice AI offers a scalable and efficient way to manage resident communication during this critical transition.
3. Community engagement, surveys and extreme alerts to residents
As the COVID era showed, local governments often need to communicate with residents quickly and at scale. AI optimisation for local government in the UK can play a key role here. During emergencies or surge events, outbound voice and text campaigns help councils deliver urgent messages quickly, freeing staff to focus on more complex tasks or work on the ground.
AI can also support regular community engagement, such as surveys and feedback collection. These are essential for councils to understand local needs and improve services, but they take time. AI makes these tasks faster, more consistent, and less resource-intensive.
4. Council tax reminders and debt collection
Local councils in the UK are responsible for collecting council tax, and debt collection adds extra pressure on already busy teams. AI can help by automating many parts of the process.
Councils manage council tax reminders, late payments, and recovery through several steps — reminders, final notices, and sometimes legal action. With AI voice assistants and chatbots, councils can automate reminders, reducing staff workload and helping prevent debts from escalating.
Another valuable use case is supporting housing benefits or council tax reduction applications. A voice bot can handle the initial call, gather information about a resident’s eligibility, and clearly explain the following steps, such as required documents and timelines.
Local councils in the UK must assess residents who may need care or support, as required by the Care Act 2014. These assessments look at a person’s needs, how they affect daily life, and what outcomes they want to achieve. Councils also assess unpaid carers to understand what support they may need.
A social worker or occupational therapist usually carries them out, often considering home adaptations, equipment, or paid carers. Assessments can be done face-to-face, online, by phone, or through self-assessment.
Another common type is the post-hospital discharge check-in call, which is usually conducted within 24 hours to ensure the person is doing well at home.
Phone-based assessments can be automated. AI voice assistants can:
- Call residents to conduct initial assessments
- Summarise and send assessment results to council teams
- Transfer to a specialist when needed
Some of the most valuable AI applications for councils mirror typical inbound call centre use cases. Routine information queries — estimated to make up a third of all incoming calls — can be handled efficiently by AI voice assistants.
These solutions offer 24/7 phone and messaging support, reduce wait times, and triage calls by routing complex issues to human advisors. This frees up staff to focus on cases that need personal attention.
Voice bots can answer common questions related to different council departments. They handle various services, including council tax enquiries, housing, environmental services (bin collection, fly-tipping reports), parking, benefit applications, planning inquiries, and general FAQs. The bot can redirect residents to the relevant council offices or teams for further support if needed.
7. Dedicated line for rescheduling and cancelling OT and social care appointments
Councils face challenges managing appointment changes for occupational therapy and social care, especially with limited staff and tight budgets.
An AI voice assistant can automate routine tasks like reminders, rescheduling, and cancellations, reducing the administrative burden. It also provides 24/7 availability, helping to lower missed appointments and delays.
The system can integrate with existing social care management tools to update records in real time and trigger any necessary follow-up actions.
Adding a chatbot to a council website helps improve the resident experience by answering routine questions quickly and accurately.
Some councils place chatbots across the entire site, while others limit them to key service pages to improve relevance and usability. These bots can be trained on local policies and FAQs to ensure accurate and compliant responses.
There are already strong examples in the UK. Newcastle has used chatbots to allow residents to apply for permits for waste and recycling centres. And Barnet Council uses a chatbot called Ami to support residents across multiple services.
Let’s look at more chatbot use cases for government organisations.
AI can help councils better support unpaid carers, who often struggle to find the right help and resources when they need them most. A carer support chatbot makes this process easier.
Unpaid carers can access guidance, resources, and advice through a simple, friendly chatbot on the council’s website. The chatbot also speeds up and automates the assessment process, saving staff time.
The chatbot is designed to respond with empathy and understanding. It asks for basic details, gathers information about the carer’s current needs, and suggests resources tailored to their situation.
9. Chatbot for standard social care and community service requests
One of the most practical chatbot use cases for councils is handling routine resident requests related to social care and community services. These are some of the most common interactions councils manage, and many can be automated.
Examples include:
- Occupational therapy (OT) assessments and appointments – Residents can request evaluations for adaptive equipment or home modifications to support independent living.
- Care tech use cases – Requests for assistive tech to help with health or daily living tasks.
- Housing services – Applications and questions about council housing, waiting lists, or tenancy issues.
- General social care requests, including support for personal care, home care, or specialist services like community nursing and other AI chatbot use cases.
- Consultations and information requests – General guidance or referrals to the right departments.
An AI-powered chatbot on a council website can answer questions, guide residents to the right resources, and connect them to the correct council teams, saving time for both residents and staff.
10. Disabled facilities grant prescreening and FAQs
To receive a Disabled Facilities Grant, residents must apply and undergo an assessment. These grants help fund home adaptations for disabled individuals to live independently. Councils conduct an occupational therapist’s assessment to identify health needs and the home adaptations required.
Before the full assessment, a prescreening is done to check eligibility. This includes questions like “Do you own your home?” and “What kind of adaptation do you need?”.
While council experts handle the whole approval process, the prescreening can be managed by an AI chatbot. The chatbot can:
- Ask prescreening questions to confirm eligibility and guide applicants to the right next steps
- Arrange occupational therapy assessments
- Collect necessary information to move the application forward
- Provide detailed guidance and answer FAQs, including reminders about landlord permission and other important considerations.
Generative AI has the potential to improve public services significantly, but adoption in local government is still moving slowly. One reason is the need for more real-world examples and practical ideas for using AI for the digital transformation of councils.
At Tovie, we’re committed to sharing our expertise to help councils move beyond pilot projects and towards large-scale, impactful deployments. The goal is to make AI a practical tool for better, faster, and more accessible public services.
Not sure where to start with AI in your organisation? We’ll help you identify the use cases that deliver the most value