AI transformation in government starts with people

AI adoption starts with people. Agencies that align culture and systems can drive measurable constituent outcomes.

In brief

• AI adoption stalls when workforce readiness lags technology investment. Success depends on shifting mindsets, behaviors and culture.
• Agencies create lasting AI value when leadership, governance and workforce practices reinforce responsible daily use.
• Technology alone won’t transform government. Measurable constituent outcomes require people, processes and systems working together.

What’s changing and why AI adoption stalls in government

Across government, AI adoption today is widespread but shallow. Interest is high, experimentation is common, yet consistent and advanced use remains limited.

Recent survey data illustrates the challenge clearly. According to the EY Work Reimagined Survey, 77% of public sector employees report having used AI at work, but only 19% of respondents use it daily and just 3% of respondents consider themselves advanced users. Exposure alone is not translating into sustained changes in how work gets done.

This gap persists for understandable reasons. Government agencies face well-documented constraints, including security considerations, policy and compliance requirements, workforce capacity limitations and legacy operating models. Together, these pressures make it difficult to move from isolated experimentation to agency-wide adoption.

But the upside is clear. When AI is used consistently, the benefits are tangible. According to the EY AI in Government Pulse Survey, 71% of public sector employees who use AI daily report efficiency gains and time savings, allowing them to focus on complex, mission-critical work and better service delivery.

The implication for leaders is an important one: the issue is not whether AI works. It is whether agencies are creating conditions that allow people to use it confidently, responsibly and consistently.

Diagnose the real constraint: mindset, behaviors and the operating environment

Agencies that make progress with AI share a common trait: they focus first on how work actually happens. AI adoption accelerates when organizations address three interconnected elements:

When these three elements work together, the result is an AI-ready culture, where AI is integrated into daily work, not treated as a separate initiative.

What an AI-ready culture looks like

When mindset, behaviors and the operating environment are aligned, they begin to show up in how work is experienced — at the individual, team and organizational level.

In mature organizations, AI is treated as a priority consideration in how work gets done.

At the individual level, employees understand how AI fits into their role. They have the skills, capacity and clarity needed to apply AI meaningfully, with clear expectations for use.

At the team level, AI enhances collaboration. Teams share learnings, experiment safely and build norms around transparency, curiosity and continuous improvement.

At the organizational level, AI is embedded into how the agency operates. Governance, communications, performance management, policies and metrics reinforce responsible use and continuous learning. When a strong governance and monitoring structure is in place, employees are enabled to learn and leaders send a message to the workforce that AI adoption is a priority.

The cultural shift is often subtle but powerful. Instead of hearing, “We’re being told to use AI, but have no direction on how it can improve our jobs,” organizations begin to hear, “I’ve used AI to improve how we do this — here’s what worked.”

Leadership alignment sets the pace

Creating this AI culture shift is not organic; it is leadership driven. Fragmented sponsorship, inconsistent messaging or passive alignment creates uncertainty that spreads quickly.

Our experience shows that leadership behavior becomes “policy” through the signals it sends — what leaders ask about, what they reward and what they personally model. Effective AI transformation requires agency leaders who are visibly engaged, not just supportive in principle.

This includes modeling AI fluency, reinforcing expectations for learning, encouraging responsible experimentation and actively removing organizational barriers. By setting an example and supporting those behaviors with an investment in an established vision, strong governance and clear roles and expectations to support it, employees gain confidence to engage with the technology.

AI culture is demonstrated by leaders, not delegated.

How agencies make the shift

With leadership setting direction, the question becomes how to scale adoption across the organization.

Sustainable AI adoption cannot be purely top-down. Agencies that succeed identify and mobilize an “activation network” comprised of trusted influencers across the organization who help spread behaviors, collect feedback and build trust.

These influencers serve as role models for AI use, connect colleagues, gather insights from the front lines and help leadership understand what is working and where barriers remain.

At the same time, successful agencies take a structured approach to embedding AI into how work gets done, which might include:

• Start with why: Anchor AI efforts to specific mission outcomes to better serve constituents.
• Understand gaps: Diagnose cultural readiness through listening and assessment.
• Identify behaviors: Define clear, role-based expectations for daily use, aligned with union considerations, privacy guardrails and legislative guidance.
• Create momentum: Reinforce new habits through practical application and shorter feedback and review cycles.
• Connect to the heart: Address fears and concerns openly.
• Sustain with systems: Establish strong governance and clear ownership, KPIs, performance, communications and guardrails.

For government, procurement of new technology and policy compliance matter, but they do not drive daily behavior. Leaders must intentionally design AI adoption into roles, routines and expectations.

What success looks like

Success is not measured by the quantity of AI initiatives that are launched. It is measured by how well AI is woven into how work gets done, improving constituent delivery, service quality and employee experience.

Based on our experience with successful organizations adopting AI, we have seen leaders ask several key questions that will impact the way they position themselves for AI adoption:

1. How well is my team aligned on the importance of adopting AI across the agency?
2. How strong is the activation network that is in place at my agency, if I have one at all?
3. How are my internal processes prepared for this change?

AI will not fail in government because the technology is insufficient. It will fail when agencies aren’t able to confidently answer these key questions. Leaders need to recognize that investing in workforce capability, leadership alignment and the cultural systems that make AI part of “how we work” is at the core of these transformations.

The agencies that lead will be those that recognize a simple truth: AI transformation in government starts — and succeeds — with people.

Additional contributors to this article: Allison Bream, Ernst & Young LLP; Lara Handelsman, Ernst & Young LLP; Max Koch, Ernst & Young LLP; Nick Gillan, Ernst & Young LLP; Zak Stengel, Ernst & Young LLP; Meredith Monroe, Ernst & Young LLP; and Kaitlyn Ames, Ernst & Young LLP.