# AI in government: which tasks to automate first Updated October 2026 Across the 10 million US jobs in government, the work scores 41 of 100 for AI exposure, weighted by how many people do each job. AI can take on about 690 hours a year per full-time person, 35% of a working year. The task that frees the most hours across the industry is to record facts to prepare reports that document incidents and activities, about 53 hours a year for each person who does it. AI exposure, weighted by employment 41 out of 100 Moderate exposure Hours AI can take on 690 hours a year per full-time person Task time AI can do today 14% AI speeds up another 49% ## Tasks to automate first The 15 tasks where AI can take on the most hours across government: how exposed each task is, how much of the job it takes and how many people do that job. Hours are per person in the role that does the task. [How we score each task](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/). | Task and who does it | AI exposure | | --- | --- | | Record facts to prepare reports that document incidents and activities. AI drafts reports from bodycam audio; officer reviews and signs. Done by police officers. | 70% AI can do it 53 hours a year for each person in the role | | Maintain records of prisoners' identification and charges. Recording IDs and charges is structured data entry AI handles well. Done by correctional officers. | 80% AI can do it 70 hours a year for each person in the role | | Verify that the proper legal charges have been made against law offenders. AI can check charges against statutes; officer confirms accuracy. Done by police officers. | 50% AI helps 35 hours a year for each person in the role | | Document findings of study and prepare recommendations for implementation of new systems, procedures, or organizational changes. AI drafts reports well, but findings and recommendations need expert judgment. Done by management consultants. | 62% AI helps 126 hours a year for each person in the role | | Type, format, proofread, and edit correspondence and other documents, from notes or dictating machines, using computers or typewriters. Dictation, typing, formatting and proofreading are core AI strengths. Done by office clerks. | 80% AI can do it 92 hours a year for each person in the role | ## What stays with people 37% of the task time across these roles needs a person, and the output of the rest still needs someone to check it. The tasks below take the most of that time. - **14%** AI can do it - **49%** AI helps - **37%** Needs a person - Identify, pursue, and arrest suspects and perpetrators of criminal acts. Police officers, 8% exposed - Provide for public safety by maintaining order, responding to emergencies, protecting people and property, enforcing motor vehicle and criminal laws, and promoting good community relations. Police officers, 12% exposed - Render aid to accident survivors and other persons requiring first aid for physical injuries. Police officers, 5% exposed - Monitor, note, report, and investigate suspicious persons and situations, safety hazards, and unusual or illegal activity in patrol area. Police officers, 12% exposed - Testify in court to present evidence or act as witness in traffic and criminal cases. Police officers, 10% exposed ## Adoption path Start with the tasks where AI helps a person, then automate the routine ones, then give whole workflows to agents with a person approving the output. 1. ### Quick wins Caseworkers and administrators get case summaries and letter drafts from a private AI setup. Example: Verify that the proper legal charges have been made against law offenders. AI helps with 50% of the time. [AI governance](https://www.aigentcy.com/services/ai-governance/) 2. ### Workflow automation Form intake, eligibility checks, document routing and records requests run as automations. Example: Record facts to prepare reports that document incidents and activities. AI can do 70% of it. [Process automation](https://www.aigentcy.com/services/process-automation/) 3. ### Agents An agent answers routine public enquiries and prepares each case file for an officer to decide. 8 of the 15 tasks on this page are ones AI can do end to end, the work an agent takes on. [Private AI](https://www.aigentcy.com/services/private-ai/) ## Teams in this industry The business functions in government, by share of the workforce, with each one's exposure. 1. [Operations and admin, 11.4% of the workforce, score **56**](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/operations/) 2. [Legal and compliance, 6.8% of the workforce, score **53**](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/legal-and-compliance/) 3. [Customer service, 5.8% of the workforce, score **62**](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/customer-service/) 4. [Finance and accounting, 5% of the workforce, score **60**](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/finance/) 5. [IT and software, 3.3% of the workforce, score **58**](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-for/it/) ## Roles in government The 20 largest roles, each linked to its task-by-task score. Shares come from the BLS industry staffing estimates, May 2025. Of the roles with at least 2% of the jobs, office clerks score highest at 60, firefighters lowest at 15. 1. [Police officers, 6.6% of the workforce, score **31** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/police-officers/) 2. [Correctional officers, 3.8% of the workforce, score **26** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/correctional-officers/) 3. [Firefighters, 3.3% of the workforce, score **15** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/firefighters/) 4. [Office clerks, 2.5% of the workforce, score **60** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/office-clerks/) 5. [Secretaries, 1.9% of the workforce, score **66** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/secretaries/) 6. [Management consultants, 1.8% of the workforce, score **55** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/management-consultants/) 7. [Court clerks, 1.8% of the workforce, score **62** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/court-clerks/) 8. [Maintenance workers, 1.8% of the workforce, score **21** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/maintenance-workers/) 9. [Nurses, 1.8% of the workforce, score **36** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/nurses/) 10. [Lawyers, 1.7% of the workforce, score **48** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/lawyers/) 11. [Social workers, 1.6% of the workforce, score **41** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/child-and-family-social-workers/) 12. [Police supervisors, 1.5% of the workforce, score **36** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/police-supervisors/) 13. [Highway maintenance workers, 1.5% of the workforce, score **8** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/highway-maintenance-workers/) 14. [General managers, 1.5% of the workforce, score **44** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/general-managers/) 15. [Compliance officers, 1.5% of the workforce, score **58** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/compliance-officers/) 16. [Eligibility interviewers, 1.5% of the workforce, score **65** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/eligibility-interviewers/) 17. [Administrative supervisors, 1.3% of the workforce, score **55** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/administrative-supervisors/) 18. [Accountants, 1.2% of the workforce, score **60** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/accountants/) 19. [Detectives, 1.2% of the workforce, score **35** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/detectives/) 20. [Recreation workers, 1.2% of the workforce, score **34** out of 100](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/recreation-workers/) ## Questions about AI in government Which tasks should a public body automate first? The first task to automate is to record facts to prepare reports that document incidents and activities (70% exposed). Next come the tasks to maintain records of prisoners' identification and charges (80%) and to verify that the proper legal charges have been made against law offenders (50%). Together they free the most hours across the industry. How many hours can AI save a public body? About 690 hours a year per full-time person, 35% of a 2,000-hour working year. For a team of 10 that is about 6,900 hours, the time of 3.5 full-time people. The figure is the share of task time AI can remove today, weighted by how many people do each job. Which roles in a public body are most exposed to AI? Of the roles with at least 2% of the jobs, office clerks score highest, at 60 of 100, and firefighters lowest, at 15. Each role's page lists its tasks one by one. Will AI replace jobs in government? AI can do 14% of the task time across these roles today. Another 49% gets faster with AI while a person stays in charge. 37% needs a person. One task that stays with people is to identify, pursue, and arrest suspects and perpetrators of criminal acts. Where should a public body start with AI? With the quick wins: approved assistants for the tasks AI helps with, under a written AI policy. Then automate the 8 tasks on this page AI can do end to end. An AI audit maps the tasks in your team and ranks them the same way this page does. ## Next steps ### Find the tasks to automate first in your team We map the tasks in your business, score each one the way this page does and build the automations that pay back first. [Book an AI audit](https://www.aigentcy.com/audit/) Occupation data from the O\*NET 30.3 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and modified by Aigentcy. O\*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. Wage, employment and projection data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. EU occupation names from ESCO, European Commission. AI usage signals from the Anthropic Economic Index (CC BY) and Microsoft Research (CC BY 4.0). [Methodology and sources](https://www.aigentcy.com/ai-exposure/methodology/). Scores © Aigentcy. Quote them with a link to the page.