Latest Granicus survey suggests widening gap between increased use of AI in public sector and levels of public trust in such tech.
A new study published by Granicus, the specialists in customer engagement technology, has found that 57% of public sector workers are now either fully embedding AI-driven services or experimenting with them across their organisation.
Photo by BoliviaInteligente / Unsplash
While that’s indicative of increased AI adoption more generally, there’s a serious mismatch between the public sector workers and the citizens they serve about the use of such technology. Some 69% of citizens who responded to the survey were not aware of any public services currently using AI, and just under half – 49% – said they do not trust or are not comfortable with public services that use it.
The research, conducted by Censuswide in the first half of March, involved a sample of 500 public sector employees aged 16+, comprising 30% local government employees, 30% central government, 10% in housing, 10% in NHS and 20% in other public sector roles. In addition, the survey engaged a sample of 1,000 nationally representative consumers. To download the full report, visit https://granicus.com/uk/resource/digital-confidence-in-public-services/
Based on their use of public digital services over the past 12 months, 55% of citizen respondents said they currently trust such services. The implication is that confidence could be severely undermined if AI is introduced without sufficient visibility
Citizens’ hesitation towards AI was also reflected in perceptions of priority. Just 17% believed AI should be a focus for the public sector over the next two to three years to deliver better digital services. Yet when public sector workers were asked which technologies are most needed to close the gap between the digital services provided today and those required by 2028, AI was highlighted by 30% of respondents, as well as cybersecurity (34%) and big data analytics (22%).
A majority of 62% of the public sector workers said that their existing digital tools could be used more effectively and 42% said that the biggest barrier is lack of training. Asked which skills they personally need more support with, 39% said AI literacy – the top response.
The report found that levels of satisfaction with current digital services have risen – from 46% to 56% since the last such survey – yet confidence about readiness for the future is declining. Confidence among public sector workers fell from 61% in 2025 to 47% in the new report.
Leadership remains an issue, with 54% of public sector believing that it impedes the progress of digital initiatives, with little change in the last year.
A key concern was over the balance between inclusion and accessibility. Some 58% of public sector workers believe their organisation’s digital services are fully accessible to people with low digital skills or disabilities. Yet 29% of citizens who took part said they have personally experienced difficulty accessing digital public services in the past year. Accessibility also ranked highly in citizens’ priorities for improvement: 24% said accessibility should be prioritised, placing it above AI (17%) and interoperability (8%).
Ian Roberts, UK Managing Director of Granicus, says: ‘The level of engagement and utilisation of AI and automation across government services shows clear progress, but our research also highlights the work needed to bring citizens on that journey. This extends to the role of training and addressing AI literacy which our research highlights. This will be key over the next 12 months, in not only bringing about greater efficiencies for local authorities but also improving digital services, enhancing accessibility and allowing the public to self-serve and access the support they need.’
In related news:
Report highlights barriers to disabled people shopping online
Leave a Reply