Artificial Intelligence

AI in Action: How Counties Are Leading Innovation in Public Service

The National Association of Counties supports the development of use cases for artificial intelligence by local governments.

Rita D. Reynolds

Rita D. Reynolds is CIO of the National Association of Counties.

The transformative potential of artificial intelligence is becoming a reality across counties throughout the United States. As this technology continues to evolve, counties are increasingly implementing public-facing and internal applications, from translation services supporting constituent casework to tools that enhance wildfire monitoring, property assessment and infrastructure accessibility.

While both large and small counties are piloting innovative AI use cases, a key question emerges: Why does this matter?

Counties are the first line of service delivery in many communities. They oversee critical infrastructure, foster economic growth and ensure public well-being. As AI and generative AI gain momentum, counties are uniquely positioned to leverage these technologies to expand capacity, streamline operations and deliver better services to residents.

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Like all emerging technologies, AI and generative AI bring a blend of promise and complexity. There’s a lot to consider for counties, including:

Crafting responsible and transparent policies
Managing emerging ethical concerns
Adopting sound development and deployment practices
Responding to evolving workforce impacts

NACo Guides AI Governance for Counties

To help counties navigate this evolving landscape, NACo’s Artificial Intelligence Exploratory Committee released the AI County Compass in July 2024. This guide supports counties in responsibly integrating AI and generative AI into their operations and services.

NACo has also been identifying innovative AI use cases from counties across the nation. These examples, both public- and internal-facing, span five major themes:

Government operations and workflow automation. Counties are collaborating with vendors and forming strategic partnerships to automate tasks such as project management, procurement workflows and priority-based budgeting.
Public service and resident engagement. AI is being used to increase accessibility and responsiveness through tools such as chatbots, document translation, e-filing systems and even AI-generated promotional videos for election volunteers.
Emergency and resource planning. Historical and real-time data combined with AI enables predictive capabilities. Examples include forecasting fire/EMS incidents and anticipating changes in student populations.
Education and population planning. Counties are using AI to predict demographic shifts and future infrastructure needs. One county is leveraging AI for zoning analysis using satellite imagery and related data.
Cybersecurity and data privacy. Counties are modernizing legacy code and applying AI to support secure emergency management training environments.

You can explore these use cases further on NACo’s website.

NACo Gathers County Leaders for AI Symposia

In addition to this effort, NACo is also providing other resources to assist local government. These resources include AI regional forums, tech briefs and webinars.

AI Regional Forums. Throughout 2025, NACo is holding regional AI forums that provide educational, hands-on symposiums covering the landscape of AI and GenAI for county governments. Two of the four regional forums occurred in the first part of 2025, one in Dauphin County, Pa., and the other in Travis County, Texas. The remaining forums are scheduled for September and November in Hennepin County, Minn., and Utah County, Utah. More information is available on our regional forum website.

Tech Briefs. Over the past two years, the NACo Tech Xchange has provided input into the development of a variety of tech briefs, including “Top 10 Qualities of a GenAI Prompt,” which provides guidance on prompt creation as well as an AI procurement checklist that includes questions to ask when reviewing proposals, closing deals or renewing contracts. These resources can be accessed through Tech Xchange Reference Library.

Webinars. NACo has facilitated a variety of AI-related webinars. Below are a few:

As AI and generative AI continue to reshape the landscape of public service, NACo is committed to staying at the forefront — tracking developments, surfacing practical examples and providing resources that empower counties to lead with confidence.

Philadelphia hosts the 2025 NACo Annual Conference & Exhibition July 11-14.

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