Government agencies pursuing conversational AI for service delivery face significant citizen adoption barriers, with only 2% of citizens choosing AI chatbots as their first-choice channel, according to new Gartner research.

The report reveals 46% of government CIOs believe conversational AI (CAI) will play a critical or significant role in future digital service delivery. However, citizen hesitancy threatens this digital transformation vision.

"Citizens today don't consider CAI channels as their first choice for government interactions, but this is likely to change as they become more common across all industries," said Dean Lacheca, VP Analyst at Gartner and author of the report.

Among citizens who have used government conversational assistants, 25% are not willing or only slightly willing to try the channel again. The majority (57%) have never used such services.

Gartner identifies key risks deterring government adoption: AI hallucinations generating incorrect information, inadvertent exposure of sensitive citizen data, workflow disruptions, and reputational damage from unprofessional responses.

"A citizen's first user experience with a government CAI will significantly influence their future willingness to use the channel, so it is essential to design it with a human-centred approach from the outset," Lacheca said.

Evolution Beyond Traditional Chatbots

For over a decade, governments have implemented chatbots as part of multichannel service delivery strategies. These systems, designed for straightforward inquiries and automated responses, have delivered mixed results.

Traditional chatbots often suffer from negative citizen perceptions due to outdated technologies or poor implementation. They frequently require extensive human intervention to manage escalated issues.

Recent generative AI advancements have enabled CAI technologies to shift from simple query handling to sophisticated interactions that mimic human conversation patterns, propose next-best actions and solve problems.

The convergence of advanced CAI technologies and shifting citizen expectations is changing the benchmark for government service delivery.

Risk Mitigation Strategies

Government CIOs must implement robust risk mitigation strategies including active monitoring, clear escalation paths to human agents, and rule-based AI monitoring alongside generative AI components, according to Gartner.

"Poorly thought-through implementations will undermine trust and fail to meet citizen expectations for quick, low-effort service experiences that are available 24/7 and are personalised," Lacheca said.

The research recommends pilot programmes with internal users before citizen-facing deployment, co-creation with citizen groups, and continuous content curation of AI-optimised knowledge repositories.

Survey Methodology

The findings draw from two Gartner surveys conducted in 2025. The Transition to Digital Government Survey, conducted July through September, surveyed 138 government respondents from North America, EMEA, and Asia/Pacific screened for involvement in digital solution adoption.

The Citizen Experience Survey investigated citizen preferences among respondents aged 18 or older who interacted with government services in the past 12 months. Respondents resided in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Norway, France, Spain, or Australia.

Dean Lacheca is VP Analyst in Gartner's CIO business and technology insights group. Prior to joining Gartner, Mr Lacheca worked in the public sector space for more than 20 years including 11 years at the government owned worker's compensation insurer in Queensland.