Public Sector
Author: Mark Gibbison July 10, 2025 3 min read

The role of automation and AI in boosting productivity for local government

Automation presents a unique opportunity for local governments to meet demand productively and resolve the backlogs caused by past disruptions. Additionally, interest in Artificial Intelligence is increasing across UK local governments as a similar method to boost productivity and resolve backlogs efficiently.

While automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are separate concepts, those organizations that embrace ERP, a data-driven culture, and the automation of processes this allows, will be better prepared to implement AI effectively.

While many US states are still ironing out the ethical considerations around AI and automation, in the UK government there is an organized effort to enact digital transformation initiatives and reskill staff to leverage digital solutions like automation, and eventually AI, to improve productivity.

With automation, local governments can solve what Gareth Davies, head of NAO, outlined as a “productivity problem” in the public sector, during his speech to UK parliament, while preparing for further efficiency gains from potential AI investment in the sector.

Read our blog to learn more about automation, the potential for AI to build on this, and the role of ERP to build a data-driven culture that allows these digital solutions to take full effect and be implemented effectively.

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How are AI and automation different?

AI and automation have distinct purposes. Automation executes predefined tasks, reducing manual intervention and enhancing efficiency. AI, incorporating machine learning and advanced algorithms, learns from data, adapts, and makes decisions without explicit programming.

Automation is about setting up robots to follow a set of pre-defined rules. AI is about setting up robots to make their own decisions.

Artificial intelligence is the capability of a computer system to mimic human cognitive functions such as learning and problem-solving. Through AI, a computer system uses math and logic to simulate the reasoning that people use to learn from new information and make decisions.

With automation in place, AI can build on this pre-existing logic and take automation a few steps further. Automation can help create accurate reports, replacing the manual work this would usually take, but with AI it could suggest actions based on the data in the report, for example.

The support for AI investment for local government

A recent policy paper proposes that UK “Government will systematically track opportunities arising from emerging technologies, with a special focus on enabling departments to make confident and responsible use of Artificial Intelligence to improve efficiency and services”

Adding that the government has “Launched a rapid start project to enable confident and responsible use of generative AI, including support for early adopter projects and the development of a new generative AI framework for government, to put this technology to work across the civil service.”

This makes clear that support is strong for those local governments who wish to use AI to, as MP Alex Burghart puts it, “improve the lives of citizens throughout the UK and modernise the way government works.”

The paper adds that “Leveraging the power of digital and data will make government more productive and sustainable, with less duplication and waste. Processes and systems will run more efficiently and policy and programmes will be delivered with greater precision and impact.”

Rethinking how local governments meet demand is vital going forward, as Gareth Davies outlines that “The public sector is finding it harder to retain staff \[…] Neither is this problem confined to ‘frontline’ roles as evidenced by the thousands of digital vacancies across government.”

Why an ERP suite is key for AI implementation

A data-driven culture is key for AI and automation to work, and this is the first frontier for those looking to implement AI effectively.

By integrating all an organization's data into the Cloud – from HR and projects to finances – local governments can benefit from the productivity-driving automation ERP can provide, while also laying the groundwork to implement AI effectively.

Gareth Davies agrees that “Without it [data], government ambitions on artificial intelligence will not be realized, as poor data means arriving at wrong answers, only faster.”

With the full visibility that integrated Cloud data provides, data can flow seamlessly, and automation can use this data, which would require large manual workloads when dealing with data siloes and legacy systems.

With the pre-defined rules that automation follows, your staff spends less time manually inputting data and creating reports. When your talent is less focused on repetitive manual tasks, they will likely be more engaged with strategic thinking and can develop new ways of working, boost productivity, and partaking in a data-driven culture.

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How can Unit4 boost productivity with digital solutions?

With Unit4 ERP local governments can lay the groundwork to implement AI solutions by integrating their data on the Cloud and implementing automation capabilities.

“Our goal is to dramatically reduce the amount of time that users need to spend interacting with ERP systems by automating processes and making tasks more intuitive and intelligent,” said Claus Jepsen, CPTO, Unit4.

To learn how Unit4 can help local governments prepare for AI solutions within our Cloud-based ERP platform and automation capabilities, talk to sales, consult our local-government-specific ERP solutions or get a tailored demo of our public sector solutions

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