Raleigh Concluded Pilot Program for AI Service Assistant
The city tested an AI customer service tool to assist non-English speakers before identifying significant hurdles.
Updated on Sept. 23, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence
Live Poll
Would you prefer speaking to an AI assistant or a human for government service inquiries?
Raleigh conducted a pilot program using an AI assistant named Daisy to support a diverse visitor population, including those who speak languages other than English. The program revealed challenges in accuracy and resident preference for human interaction during complex inquiries.
Why it matters
The pilot aimed to improve customer service accessibility, but it highlighted the difficulty of training AI on outdated data and meeting high accuracy benchmarks. It also underscored the ongoing tension between digital efficiency and the human touch required for sensitive interactions.
The AI assistant struggled with initial training, achieving only a 30% accuracy rate before reaching a 5% final incorrect response rate. City staff tested the system across English, French, Arabic, and Spanish, while focus groups evaluated 24 different potential digital avatars.
The players
Daisy
Daisy is an AI customer service assistant that was developed for a pilot program in Raleigh.
PayIt
PayIt is a digital government solutions company that tracks adoption trends across public sector agencies.
The details
Raleigh utilized an outdated strategic plan containing incorrect data to train the AI, which significantly hindered its initial performance. Feedback revealed that while the AI was intended to bridge language gaps, residents preferred human employees for complex or emotional inquiries.
Timeline
The 2025 PayIt Consumer Digital Government Adoption Index data was collected throughout 2025.
The city completed the AI pilot program in Q3 2026.
Details regarding the program were published in September 2026.
The Tech Race
Raleigh's experience reflects a broader trend identified in the 2025 PayIt Consumer Digital Government Adoption Index, which found that while 83% of governments are implementing AI, consumer comfort levels remain at only 50%. This gap between institutional adoption and public sentiment continues to drive the evolution of government-facing technology.
Residents should expect continued reliance on human customer service agents for complex or emotional city inquiries following the pilot feedback. Future iterations of AI tools in Raleigh will likely shift toward internal staff support rather than direct public-facing roles.
The takeaway
The Raleigh pilot demonstrates that AI integration in government requires not just advanced software, but accurate, up-to-date data training. City agencies must balance the drive for automation with the public's clear preference for human communication in critical service areas.
Further reading
Learn more about the broader development of Artificial Intelligence tools in the public sector.
Source note: This article includes information reported by StateTech Magazine.
Live Poll
Would you prefer speaking to an AI assistant or a human for government service inquiries?
