Renfrewshire Council is embarking on a three-year AI transformation programme – in a bid to address ‘growing financial and operational pressures’.
The local authority has appointed ICS.AI to lead a £5 million contract to use artificial intelligence to improve services, drive efficiency and continue delivering high-quality services for residents.
Council leaders have already deployed Millie, its award-winning AI phone assistant, since November 2024, and the new contract is with the same Basingstoke-based supplier.
Before awarding the contract, Renfrewshire undertook what is believed to be the most extensive AI transformation assessment by a Scottish local authority.
ICS.AI was selected following a competitive procurement process that initially considered more than 100 potential suppliers, before narrowing the field to 14 at the next stage.
The appointment recognised the company’s experience delivering AI transformation programmes across UK local government and builds on the Millie deployment. Working across 25 service areas, more than 100 council staff took part in 32 workshops which identified 194 potential AI use cases.
The first phase will see ICS.AI build on the success of Millie, upgrading the existing telephone service with generative AI capabilities and developing a new web-based Citizen Copilot to give residents greater access to council information and services.
An AI ‘staff Copilot’ will also be rolled out to eligible council employees, providing secure AI tools to help with everyday work, council information, meetings and case notes.
The programme will also introduce AI agents to support three high-volume areas: service inboxes, Freedom of Information and Subject Access Requests, and complaints handling. Staff will retain oversight, with AI supporting rather than replacing human decision-making.
Patrick Murray, head of digital, transformation and customer services at Renfrewshire Council, said: “We can no longer rely on traditional savings measures alone and need to find new ways of working to maintain high-quality services and meet future pressures.
“ICS.AI has already demonstrated what AI can deliver for Renfrewshire through Millie and has experience delivering similar transformation programmes across UK local government. We’re now building on that foundation to look at how AI can support our staff, improve services and help us work more efficiently.”
Martin Neale, founder and CEO of ICS.AI, added: “Renfrewshire is moving beyond experimentation with AI and putting it at the heart of how it transforms public services. What is particularly significant is the scale and rigour of the work that has gone into identifying where AI can make a genuine difference – not simply deploying technology for technology’s sake.
“Councils across the UK face the same challenge: demand for services is increasing while financial and workforce pressures continue to grow. Renfrewshire is demonstrating what the next phase of public-sector AI looks like – applying proven technology across an organisation to give staff more capacity, improve services for residents and create a fundamentally more sustainable operating model.”