Dubai, UAE – A new report by Accenture and the World Governments Summit Organisation (WGS) reveals that while governments worldwide are rapidly adopting artificial intelligence to transform public services, citizen satisfaction and trust are not keeping pace.
The study, Getting to the Five-Star Review: How Governments Can Use AI to Build Trusted Service at Digital Speed, introduces the Accenture AI Proactivity Index, a framework to measure how effectively governments use AI to anticipate citizen needs, empower frontline employees, and build trust.
Key Findings
The research, spanning 14 countries and surveying 7,250 residents and 4,100 public sector employees, highlights an “experience paradox”:
- AI adoption is accelerating, but nearly 45% of citizens say digital public services still need improvement.
- Employee empowerment is slipping, falling from 87% three years ago to 73% today.
- Only 35% of public entities provide structured upskilling for AI-enabled roles.
- Just 47% of residents trust their government to use AI responsibly.
Leading Performers
According to the AI Proactivity Index, governments in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore rank among the strongest performers, reflecting sustained investment in:
- Digital infrastructure
- Data governance
- Workforce transformation
Speaking at the World Governments Summit, Xavier Anglada, managing director at Accenture, emphasized the need for governments to go beyond automation:
“It’s not only about automating what they had. It’s about reimagining them, making like an invisible government. That makes citizens feel seamless services.”
The Trust Gap
The report warns that funding alone is insufficient. Leadership vision and structural reform are critical to redesign services around citizen needs rather than digitizing legacy bureaucracy.
It also highlights a trust gap, with calls for greater transparency, including public registers of algorithms, to reassure citizens about responsible AI use.
Conclusion
The study concludes that in the AI era, government credibility will increasingly depend on responsiveness and citizen experience. The challenge is no longer whether to deploy AI, but whether it can be used to remove friction from everyday life and deliver services that citizens trust.
