Governments prepare for the next wave of AI

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Governments are moving beyond AI experimentation to full-scale deployment, driven in part by public demand for faster services and tangible outcomes that are outpacing agencies’ capacity.

Recent research from the Capgemini Research Institute, based on a survey of 600 senior public-sector executives, found that just over half of public-sector organizations are exploring, piloting or deploying agentic AI.

However, adoption is often outpacing the governance and oversight structures needed to contain AI agents, with fewer than a quarter of respondents saying their responsible AI practices keep pace with the speed at which they deploy the tools.

Marc Reinhardt, global industry leader for the public sector at Capgemini, said the gap is rooted in longstanding problems in government technology.

“Public sector organizations have faced challenges with outdated infrastructure, legacy systems, interoperability and governance for years,” he said. “With AI, and particularly agentic AI, addressing them has become much more urgent,”

Managing agentic AI

The biggest barrier, according to Reinhardt, is not having the right data foundations in place. For agentic AI, the problem can become more pronounced because systems need access to a wide range of information and systems.

Laura Gilbert, head of the AI for Government program at the London-based Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, agreed that the problem lies with the data under the models.

"In my experience, the technology itself is rarely what holds governments back,” she said. “The real gap is in the foundations underneath them.” She also highlighted a “capability and confidence” gap.

Where government is deploying AI agents

For now, the most suitable applications may be those where agents can automate repetitive, high-volume work without directly determining outcomes that could materially affect citizens.

That builds the confidence and evidence base to take on more sensitive, citizen-facing work later.