AI in the Public Sector: From Exemplars to Everyday Agents

This summer has marked a significant turning point in the UK’s ambition to harness artificial intelligence (AI) for the public good. Building on the AI Opportunities Action Plan, the government has moved from strategic intent to delivery, launching flagship programmes that show both the immediate and longer-term potential of AI in public services.

Two initiatives in particular stand out: the AI Exemplars Programme, announced in August, and the development of AI Helpers: agentic AI systems designed to support citizens through life events. Taken together, they demonstrate how the UK is beginning to operationalise the Action Plan’s model of “Scan, Pilot, Scale”, while positioning the public sector as both a testbed and catalyst for wider AI adoption.

From Strategy to Implementation: The AI Opportunities Action Plan

Published in January, the AI Opportunities Action Plan set out three pillars for the UK’s AI journey:

• Lay the foundations through investment in compute, data and skills;
• Change lives by embracing AI via rapid adoption of trusted tools;
• Secure the future with homegrown AI, ensuring the UK is both a maker and a user of frontier technologies.

A core principle was that government itself should act as an ambitious customer, commissioning AI solutions, creating markets for innovation, and using its own services as proof points by adopting a “scan > pilot > scale” approach in government. This summer’s announcements show that intent is being translated into action.

The AI Exemplars Programme: Practical Gains Today

The AI Exemplars Programme brings together a series of departmental pilots designed to reduce bureaucracy, improve consistency, and free up time for frontline staff. Examples include:

• Health: AI diagnostics for lung cancer detection and AI-assisted discharge summaries to reduce delays while maintaining clinical oversight.
• Education: an AI-enabled content store to help teachers save time on lesson planning and assessment.
• Planning: “Extract”, a tool that digitises decades of planning records, cutting administrative bottlenecks in housing applications.
• Justice and Tax: tools to streamline probation casework and better target tax fraud investigations.

These are early but essential steps. They deliver tangible improvements while generating the evidence needed to scale practical approaches nationally.

While the exemplars demonstrate promising use cases, it remains unclear whether these tools will be developed in-house or procured from external suppliers. For techUK members, this raises important questions: Are these pilots a signal of future procurement opportunities? Will departments seek partnerships to scale these solutions? Clarifying the role of industry in the exemplar programme will be key to understanding its long-term impact and potential for collaboration.

AI Helpers: A Glimpse of Tomorrow

Looking further ahead, the government has also announced plans for AI Helpers, personalised agentic AI systems that could assist citizens with life admin and provide tailored career guidance. In the first instance, trials will focus on employment and skills, exploring how AI agents can match young people to apprenticeships or help adults retrain.

If successful, the same model could support other milestones, such as moving home and registering with healthcare services. The project is being developed through the UK’s first National AI Tender, which is a specific recommendation of the AI Opportunities Action Plan for scaling AI in public sector -- “Mission-focused national AI tenders to support rapid adoption across decentralised systems led by the mission delivery boards”.  The AI Helpers project seeks to bring together frontier AI companies and in-house Whitehall expertise. The ambition is for a national rollout to commence in 2027.

This approach marks a shift from efficiency gains towards systemic transformation: re-imagining how citizens interact with the state, with AI acting as an intermediary across multiple agencies.

Companies interested in learning more about these opportunities or participating in future stages are encouraged to register their interest early through the CCS Artificial Intelligence (AI) agreement and the CCS Spark DPS agreement. For details on the current tender for the GOV.UK Agentic AI Companion, visit the Find a Tender notice. Procurement-related queries should be submitted via the Jaggaer portal.

Opportunities and Challenges

The opportunities are clear: greater efficiency, improved citizen experiences, and the chance to position the UK as the first country to deploy agentic AI at scale. But challenges remain. Public trust will be crucial, especially as AI systems assume more personal tasks. Scaling pilots into nationwide systems will require sustained investment in compute, data quality, and digital skills. The UK must also ensure that it develops as a maker of AI solutions, not just a consumer of global models.

Conclusion

This summer’s announcements show the AI Opportunities Action Plan coming to life. If these initiatives deliver as intended, the UK will move closer to a vision where AI doesn’t just support public services, it redefines them, making the state more accessible, responsive, and effective for everyone.