AI adoption rises in governments, but citizen satisfaction lags

A new report by Accenture and the World Governments Summit Organisation examines how governments are using artificial intelligence to transform public services.

Titled Getting to the Five-Star Review: How Governments Can Use AI to Build Trusted Service at Digital Speed, the study introduces the Accenture AI Proactivity Index, a framework developed to assess how effectively governments use AI to anticipate citizen needs, empower frontline employees and build trust.

The research spans 14 countries and includes surveys of 7,250 residents and 4,100 public sector employees. It finds that while AI adoption in government is accelerating, many entities are focused on automating legacy systems rather than fundamentally redesigning services around citizens.

Nearly 45% of residents surveyed said digital government services still need improvement. At the same time, employee empowerment has declined from 87% three years ago to 73% today. Only 35% of public entities offer structured upskilling for AI-enabled roles, and just 47% of residents say they trust their government to use AI responsibly.

The report identifies the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Singapore among the strongest performers on the AI Proactivity Index. It concludes that in the AI era, responsiveness and citizen experience are becoming defining measures of government credibility. Business report: Nearly half of citizens say digital public services still need improvement despite rapid AI adoption, a new report from Accenture and WGS finds.

AI spending rising, citizen satisfaction lagging, report says Governments across the world are accelerating investment in artificial intelligence, but nearly 45% of citizens say digital public services still need improvement, according to a new report by Accenture and the World Government Summit Organisation.

The study, Getting to the Five-Star Review: How Governments Can Use AI to Build Trusted Service at Digital Speed, is based on research across 14 countries, surveying 7,250 residents and 4,100 frontline public sector employees.

It identifies what researchers call an “experience paradox”: while AI adoption is accelerating, satisfaction and service impact are not keeping pace. Employee confidence is also slipping.

The proportion of public servants who feel empowered has dropped from 87% three years ago to 73% today. Only 35% of public entities offer structured upskilling for AI-enabled roles, while one-third of employees cite a lack of skilled talent as a barrier to improving service quality.

Speaking to Euronews at the World Governments Summit, Xavier Anglada, managing director and global client account lead at Accenture, said the divide between leading and lagging governments is becoming clearer. “It’s not only about automating what they had,” he said. “It’s about reimagining them, making like an invisible government. That makes citizens feel seamless services.”

According to the report’s AI Proactivity Index, governments in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Singapore rank among the strongest performers, reflecting sustained investment in digital infrastructure, data governance and workforce transformation.

The study argues that funding alone is not sufficient. Leadership vision and structural reform are critical to redesigning services around citizen needs rather than digitising legacy bureaucracy. It also highlights a trust gap. Just 47% of residents surveyed say they trust their government to use AI responsibly, sparking calls for greater transparency, including public registers of algorithms.

The report concludes that in the AI era, government credibility will increasingly depend on responsiveness. The challenge is no longer whether to deploy AI, but whether it can be used to remove friction from citizens’ everyday lives.