Nearly 30,000 employees are getting new access to Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, an enterprise-grade AI tool powered by OpenAI’s GPT-4o. The tool is expected to support workers across city departments, aiming to improve the efficiency of administrative work like drafting reports and summarizing documents. The tool will be available under the city’s existing Microsoft license, so there is no new cost for the city.
The city’s CIO has previously discussed the potential value of AI use for staff, and some experts argue that San Francisco is “the best place to start an AI company.” The city has been a place to convene AI stakeholders in events such as the Hack for Social Impact. City employees, however, cannot use the technology without following guidelines.
“Rolling out AI tools under our enterprise platform provides the city with security we expect from our system tools while giving workers a space to experiment and learn,” City Administrator Carmen Chu said in a statement.
The new access is the first phase of a citywide rollout. It follows a six-month AI pilot, during which more than 2,000 city employees tested generative AI tools and reported productivity gains — up to five hours weekly. Pilot participants identified email assistance, project planning, research and summarization as their top uses for the technology.
Now, the city’s Department of Technology will work with Microsoft to launch a five-week training program with live workshops and office hours that is specific to Copilot Chat to help city employees get the most value from the tool.
In addition to the Copilot Chat training program, the city will work with InnovateUS, a nonprofit organization providing digital skills to the public sector. This partnership will enable the delivery of government-focused courses on responsible AI use in the public sector. InnovateUS has been working with governments across the nation to expand AI training, from New Jersey to Maryland to California, and in other local governments such as Indianapolis.
There is an inherent responsibility for government officials to evaluate emerging technologies like AI, and to do so, officials need to understand them, as Beth Noveck previously told Government Technology. Noveck is New Jersey’s first chief AI strategist, and she also serves as the director of the Burnes Center for Social Change at Northeastern University and The Governance Lab. She was part of the team that helped design content for InnovateUS training.
In San Francisco, the training opportunities will support responsible employee use, as will the city’s new Generative AI Guidelines that were updated on July 8. The guidelines make city staff accountable for any material they use or share and integrate requirements from the city’s AI Transparency Ordinance.
This announcement from San Francisco builds on the city’s desire to embrace AI, as demonstrated by the San Francisco Civil Grand Jury calling on city leaders to give public employees the tools they need, including AI. The Copilot Chat introduction delivers on this recommendation.
The city has been using AI in other ways, too. Officials are teaming up with leading companies in the city to leverage data and technology solutions for PermitSF, an initiative to streamline permitting processes. AI’s role has also been explored in the city’s public safety sector and in schools.
