There’s lots of optimism around AI. What are some of the biggest drivers for adoption you’re seeing?
The promise of improving the bottom line has been the biggest driver for adoption. Many of our customers, including some of the top companies in the UK and US, find AI is meaningfully increasing revenue while reducing costs. Another lever is a desire to ‘not be left behind.’ Many of those early-adopting companies we work with are the ones seeing the biggest wins.
What types of opportunities can AI create in the public sector in particular?
We’ve highlighted the main areas where we see the benefit of AI in the public sector in our recent local government skills survey. These include increasing cost efficiencies, and more broadly, how AI drives digital innovation to lead to better resident experiences. As an example, one of our council customers is using AI to minimise the administrative workload associated with adult social work.
According to Multiverse’s ROI of AI report, many organisations may be overestimating their AI maturity – what factors cause this?
There’s an assumption AI can be used immediately, straight ‘out of the box,’ but this relies on having high-quality data available. For example, data must be sanitised, structured, and collected in a way that increases the performance of off-the-shelf large-language models (LLMs). So, if data maturity is not there, then AI maturity can’t be there either.
We must remember that AI is a tool. But a tool is only as effective as the person wielding it. If a person has not been trained on how to use AI and identify AI-shaped problems, then the organisation is not as AI mature as it thinks.
So ask: do you have the data foundations in place to make the impact with AI in the way you would like? And do your people have the training to use AI in the best way?
Are there any specific challenges you see around AI adoption in the public sector?
Strains on the public purse have been holding back technology investment – and for many public sector budget holders, it can be hard to justify the cost of AI experimentation at the beginning. While the payoff might not be immediate, if you keep going, you can see more of a positive impact. On top of this, a sector-wide digital talent and skills gap makes it harder to push AI public sector projects forward. For instance, more than half (58 percent) of councils report a digital skills gap according to findings from the Future Councils pilot. In response, some councils are looking at upskilling to equip the brilliant people they already have in the building with the right skills.
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How can those hurdles be overcome?
It’s about explaining why there’s so much optimism around AI, and that we’re still in the early stages. You have to show tangible examples of how AI can impact local government and the public sector. Finally, investing in your people is just as important, giving them the skills they need to identify areas of impact with AI.
Multiverse advocates for organisations to equip their teams with formal, structured AI training – why is this so important?
Our ROI of AI research found more than half of people are learning how to use AI by playing with ChatGPT in their own time. This is the same idea as giving someone a library card – they get access to the library, but it’s not the same as giving them an education.
We’re only scratching the surface of the impact self-guided experimentation with AI tools can bring. If public sector organisations gave structured, formal AI training, then we would have a much faster adoption curve for AI, and the public would see the impact much quicker.
What’s the starting point for a public sector organisation that wants to adopt AI?
With all the hype surrounding AI, many in the public sector might feel like they’ve already been left behind. But the truth is, the introduction of generative AI in the past 12 to 18 months has put everyone back on the starting line – even people like me who studied artificial intelligence at Stanford 10 years ago! We all have to upskill too.
Everyone has the potential to use AI. The main thing is to get started and not be afraid of this technology. In 2025, I encourage all public sector organisations to think more about the impact this AI wave can bring.
What are the immediate next steps for a leader in the public sector?
There are three things I’d recommend. First: truly understanding where you are on the AI maturity scale – this is about understanding the people and the skills you have. Second is creating a skills strategy – to give your people the skills they need to use AI properly. And finally, use this moment as a chance to create new career opportunities for your people, shaped by AI skills. We have an incredible team at Multiverse which can help with all three.
