For more than two decades, Agilisys has partnered with local authorities to deliver the technology that keeps essential public services running. Today, we’re entering a new chapter. The challenges facing councils have fundamentally changed. Years of financial pressure, rising citizen expectations, increasing demand across adult and children’s services, and workforce shortages mean that simply doing more of the same is no longer sustainable.
The question is no longer whether technology can support local government, but how it can deliver meaningful, measurable improvements where they matter most. Artificial intelligence represents one of the greatest opportunities local government has seen in a generation. But its value won’t come from isolated pilots or headline-grabbing demonstrations. Real transformation happens when AI becomes embedded into everyday services, helping frontline professionals work more efficiently while improving outcomes for the people they support.
That belief has shaped the direction of Agilisys. Rather than viewing AI as another technology product, we see it as an opportunity to rethink how services are designed and delivered. Whether supporting adult social care, children’s services, planning, housing or revenues and benefits, our focus is always the same: working alongside service experts to understand their challenges, co-design practical solutions, and create lasting improvements that can be scaled across the organisation.
The most successful AI programmes don’t start with technology. They start with people.
Amplifying expertise, not replacing it
Over the past few years, we’ve worked closely with local authorities to understand the day-to-day pressures experienced by frontline teams. Administrative burden, fragmented systems, growing caseloads and increasing complexity all reduce the time professionals can spend where they add the greatest value. AI should remove those barriers, taking away repetitive manual tasks so skilled staff can focus on making better decisions, supporting residents and improving outcomes. Importantly, this isn’t about replacing expertise. It’s about amplifying it.
Built on the platforms councils already trust
Trust, however, remains essential. For many councils, questions around data security, governance and sovereignty are rightly at the forefront of any AI conversation. That’s why our approach is designed around working within the technology environments councils already trust. By configuring solutions on existing Microsoft platforms where appropriate, organisations retain ownership of their data while benefiting from AI capabilities that fit naturally into their existing governance and security frameworks.
Technology alone is never enough. The greatest value comes from partnership. We believe the future of public sector AI is built through collaboration with frontline teams, service leaders and local authorities who understand the realities of delivering public services every day. Co-development ensures solutions solve genuine operational problems rather than simply demonstrating what’s technically possible.
Wigan Council: partnership in practice
Our partnership with Wigan Council demonstrates what this looks like in practice. What began as a relationship centred around core IT services has evolved into a collaborative programme of AI-enabled transformation across multiple service areas. Rather than deploying a single solution, we’re working alongside Wigan to identify where AI can have the greatest operational impact and build solutions around real service challenges.
That journey has already seen AI support the drafting of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), helping practitioners reduce administrative burden while improving consistency and giving them more time to focus on children and families. Building on that success, we’re now collaborating on the next generation of AI-powered services, including Annual Reviews, Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and Subject Access Requests (SARs). Each initiative is designed with the same objective: reducing manual effort, accelerating service delivery and enabling skilled professionals to spend more time delivering value where it matters most.
This is what we believe AI transformation should look like. Not a collection of disconnected pilots, but a long-term partnership where successful innovation in one service creates opportunities across the organisation.
We’ve already seen what this approach can achieve. Our partnership with Wigan has contributed to measurable improvements in service delivery, with technology recognised as part of the council’s Outstanding CQC assessment, where it achieved a score of 95 out of 100, the highest in the country.
Evidence, not promises
Examples like this reinforce an important principle. Councils don’t need more promises about what AI might achieve. They need evidence of what already works, and trusted partners who can help scale that success across multiple services. The next phase of AI adoption in local government won’t be defined by individual tools or proof-of-concept projects. It will be defined by organisations that successfully embed AI into the fabric of everyday service delivery, creating sustainable improvements for staff, residents and communities alike.
Key takeaways
- Real transformation embeds AI into everyday services — not isolated pilots or one-off demonstrations.
- AI should amplify frontline expertise, taking away repetitive tasks so professionals can focus on people.
- Configuring on councils’ existing Microsoft platforms keeps data ownership, governance and sovereignty intact.
- Wigan shows the model: EHCPs today; Annual Reviews, FOI and SARs next — one success creating the next.
- Councils need evidence of what already works, and partners who can scale it across services.
At Agilisys, our mission remains the same as it has been for over 20 years: to transform outcomes for millions of citizens across the UK. Today, AI gives us a powerful new way to achieve that mission.