How can AI be used to help residents faster, more clearly and more personally?

AI can help municipalities support residents faster, more clearly and more personally. Its greatest value is not replacing civil servants, but improving public service: shorter waiting times, clearer communication and better access to information.

A first use case is answering frequently asked questions more quickly. Residents often ask about passports, driving licences, waste collection, permits, subsidies, moving house, local taxes or youth care. A well-designed AI assistant can summarize information from municipal websites, policy documents and internal knowledge bases and turn it into a clear answer. This can help residents faster while reducing pressure on municipal staff.

A second use case is clearer communication. Municipal letters, forms and decisions are often difficult to understand. AI can help rewrite texts in plain language, create step-by-step explanations, add summaries or offer the same information in multiple languages. This makes the municipality more accessible to residents who struggle with language, digital systems or complex procedures.

A third use case is more personal support. AI can help residents identify which regulation, permit or application applies to their situation. For example, a digital guide can ask questions and lead someone step by step to the right information. It must always remain clear that AI is supporting the process, not making a formal decision without human review.

AI can also support internal municipal work. Staff can prepare files faster, summarize meeting notes, search policy documents, draft responses or categorize reports from residents. This creates more time for tailored support, complex cases and direct human contact.

For municipalities, reliability, privacy, transparency and human oversight are essential. Residents must know when AI is being used, what information is processed and where they can go if they have doubts, questions or objections. Especially in public services, AI must never lead to arbitrariness, exclusion or decisions that people cannot understand.

Robbert van Empel helps municipalities and public organizations understand what AI means in practice for service delivery, work processes and responsibility. As an AI speaker, futurist and author of De Grote Verandering and Vraag het AI / Ask AI, he explains how municipalities can use AI in practical ways without losing the human character of public service.