Your call is important to us: How AI is quietly reshaping government help lines
The promise of AI in government is no longer hypothetical. For agencies under pressure to reduce costs, improve service delivery and meet growing constituent expectations, AI offers a real path forward, particularly in one of the most resource-intensive parts of government operations: the contact center.
Despite the urgency to modernize, many agencies remain stuck in legacy staffing models that make true transformation difficult.
Adding to complexity, federal cost-cutting is accelerating under the Department of Government Efficiency, forcing agencies to do more with less, often at the expense of service quality. Residents feel the impact first: longer wait times, fewer human touchpoints, and disrupted support.
AI is ready. Most contracts aren’t.
According to a McKinsey study, 57 percent of customer care leaders expect call volumes to increase over the next one or two years. Analysis of millions of interactions across more than 30 organizations shows that while call complexity has increased, 50 to 60 percent of customer interactions remain transactional, which is where AI can have a significant impact. One leading energy company has successfully reduced its billing call volume by around 20 percent and shaved up to 60 seconds off customer authentication by integrating an AI voice assistant into its back-end call workflow. The company is now planning to scale this use case across the organization. Other customer care leaders are naturally eager to invest in this technology, too, given the promised benefits of greater efficiency and productivity in an environment that generally struggles with high agent churn and the associated costs of recruitment and training. Tools like chatbots, automated routing and sentiment analysis are already in place at three-quarters of contact centers and Gartner estimates 80% of service organizations will adopt generative AI by 2026.
Government contracts and vendor models haven’t always kept up, however. Many contact center RFPs are still built around headcount, not outcomes. That leaves agencies with a mismatch: they want automation and efficiency but are often locked into service agreements designed for another era.
The result? Frustrated constituents, missed opportunities and rising costs.
Human agents still matter.
It's a mistake to view AI as a full replacement for human agents. In fact, 62% of consumers prefer speaking with a person for sensitive issues, and only 37% believe a chatbot can resolve their problem without escalation, according to a study by Verizon. AI can’t replicate emotional intelligence, empathy or complex problem-solving.
The goal isn’t to eliminate human support, but rather deploy AI strategically, freeing staff to handle the cases that truly require a human touch. That requires careful integration, not a rushed “shotgun” rollout. Foundational tools should be introduced first, with AI models trained and refined over time.
Related: In government healthcare, AI is the tool, not the point
Toward a new kind of vendor relationship
To truly modernize, government agencies need vendors who aren’t just staffing providers, but tech-enabled partners. That means evolving from volume-based billing toward value-based services that grow smarter and more cost-efficient year after year. It may even mean accepting and expecting that a contract's cost could go down year over year; not up.
That shift doesn’t just benefit government. It opens new revenue streams for vendors who can deliver consulting, analytics, and AI-enabled services at scale.
The future of contact centers is hybrid, AI-powered and outcomes-driven
Modernizing your agency’s contact center isn’t just about technology. It’s about rethinking the structure, expectations and partnerships that support it. Our teams seek to help government agencies evolve with AI-powered tools, strategic integration and experienced service delivery that prioritizes outcomes - not just volume.
Ready to reimagine your contact center?
Connect with us to explore how AI and automation can drive real, measurable improvements across your agency’s customer experience.