Title: Artificial Intelligence Adoption in Local Government Service Delivery: A Scoping Review of Applications, Governance Mechanisms, Benefits, and Risks
Authors: Richard C. Pasco
Volume: 10
Issue: 6
Pages: 10-19
Publication Date: 2026/06/28
Abstract:
Local governments are increasingly considering artificial intelligence (AI) to improve how residents obtain information, submit requests, receive benefits, navigate permits, and experience daily urban services. Yet the available evidence remains fragmented across digital government, smart-city, public administration, data governance, and responsible-AI scholarship. This targeted scoping review mapped the AI applications reported in local government service delivery and synthesized the governance mechanisms, benefits, risks, and implementation conditions associated with their use. Guided by Arksey and O'Malley's framework, Levac and colleagues' refinements, the JBI guidance for scoping reviews, and PRISMA-ScR, the review used a Population-Concept-Context approach. The population comprised local government institutions, public servants, and residents affected by local AI-enabled services; the concept covered machine learning, natural language processing, generative AI, computer vision, algorithmic decision support, and associated governance; and the context covered municipal, city, county, and local-authority service delivery. A targeted search of web-accessible peer-reviewed literature, government standards, and policy documents published from 2018 to 21 June 2026 produced 24 substantively relevant sources. Five patterns emerged: (1) citizen-facing chatbots and service navigation are common entry points; (2) operational analytics are applied to mobility, infrastructure, environment, and emergency-related tasks; (3) AI augments administrative work, document processing, anomaly detection, and civic sensemaking; (4) trustworthy deployment requires risk-tiered, lifecycle governance; and (5) benefits depend on data quality, human capability, inclusion, public trust, and a clear remedy for errors. The review advances a Responsible Local AI Service Delivery Framework that positions AI as a bounded public-service capability rather than an autonomous substitute for accountable government.