Key messages
• AI adoption can improve public sector efficiency and service quality by supporting and accelerating administrative and support tasks.
• Building internal capability for AI is important in public administrations to ensure compliance, accountability, and effectively leverage AI tools to achieve organisational goals.
• Institutions need a proactive and robust governance of AI to prevent significant risks, also related to the use of generative AI tools by staff.
• AI adoption will change work processes and skills needed within public administration. Investing in training and upskilling can help people and institutions adapt to these changes.
• More and more institutions develop training on AI for their staff, targeting all employees to develop foundational AI skills, leaders to gain strategic knowledge on AI, and digital and data professionals to improve technical AI-related skills. Examples include the “AI Masterclass for Senior Leaders” in Ireland and the “ABC of AI” e-learning module in Estonia.
Public administrations are major employers in OECD countries and many of them are facing staff shortages, high workloads, and fiscal pressures. Among their core functions are administrative and support tasks, for example, processing documents, managing claims, or providing information to individuals. AI systems can support and accelerate these procedures, improving service quality and freeing up staff capacity for more complex tasks. At the same time, a lack of skills and internal capability is among the most widely cited barriers to the adoption of AI in the public sector. Preparing people, in this context, is as important as deploying technology.
This policy brief explores the implications of AI adoption for the workforce in public administrations, and outlines strategies public sector leaders can pursue to strengthen AI capabilities of their staff and within their institution. It builds on the OECD report Harnessing AI in Social Security: Use Cases, Governance, and Workforce Readiness (OECD, 2025[1]), and draws on examples of workforce initiatives from various OECD countries, highlighting approaches towards a trustworthy and effective use of AI.